In a crackdown against wrongdoing, the Gauteng Provincial Government has removed three provincial heads of department following their failure of lifestyle audits.
This was announced by Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi who briefed the media on Wednesday.
Earlier this year, a report by the Special Investigating Unit revealed that at least 37% of senior officials in the provincial government had failed lifestyle audits.
“In line with due processes, officials whose lifestyles were found to be inconsistent with the audits were given an opportunity to provide an explanation. In response to these findings, the provincial government, in collaboration with the SIU [Special Investigating Unit] which conducted the audits, have notified the affected employees and directed them to address and rectify the identified areas that the SIU was not happy with.
“Over the weekend, I received the last reports from the SIU [and] I have now directed the HOD to engage with the relevant HODs so that they can conclude this process. Of the four outstanding reports of these HODs, three of them came back again as failed audit outcomes.
“On the basis of this, I’ve taken a decision to immediately remove these HODs from their positions. The DG will facilitate this process and make the public announcement on the changes of administrative head of department,” he said.
The Premier explained that the move reaffirmed the “commitment to ensure that departments are led by people with impeccable credentials”.
Furthermore, the SIU is conducting lifestyle audits for all supply chain and finance officials in departments.
“Given the scale of this exercise, the SIU will submit reports to departments starting with the Office of the Premier. Currently, investigators are collating outstanding documents, analysing them and compiling submitted information, conducting third party verification and finalising individual audit reports,” Lesufi said.
Forensic investigations
At the media briefing, the Premier also released some 47 forensic investigation reports conducted by institutions, including the SIU, the National Prosecuting Authority and the Public Protector.
“These reports, from multiple departments, cover a range of investigations including alleged cases of abuse of state resources, irregular and unauthorised expenditure, theft, unfair labour practices, ghost employees, procurement irregularities, suspected fraud, Human Resource irregularities, assault and death threats and corruption, amongst others.
“We are proud to release these reports to indicate our commitment that we will not tolerate any form of corruption. We have taken the recommendations to the MECs so that [they] implement the recommendations,” he said.
Additionally, a committee in the Office of the Premier has been established to track the implementation of the recommendations from those reports.
“The Office of the Premier is tracking the implementation of these forensic investigation reports and recommendations…including financial recoveries, through quarterly reports submitted to the Premier and the Provincial Anti-Corruption Coordinating Committee.
“Additionally, the Office of the Premier is supporting the Gauteng provincial government departments to prioritise fund recovery with progress monitored by the Gauteng Audit Committee.
“To strengthen recovery efforts, the office has already enhanced collaboration with the Asset Forfeiture Unit and the AFU has reaffirmed its readiness to support the Gauteng Provincial Government in asset recovery,” he said.
For even greater accountability, the provincial government is teaming up with the SIU to facilitate fund recovery.
“This includes utilising the Special Tribunal at the SIU established by the President…to expedite the recovery of state funds lost due to corruption or irregular expenditure,” he said. – SAnews.gov.za
