By Dr Salomon Hoogenraad-Vermaak
The fight to safeguard public resources cannot be won only through arrests and prosecutions alone. While accountability for wrongdoing remains essential, the most effective strategy is one that prevents misconduct before public funds are misused and public trust eroded.
This is where lifestyle audits in the public service are playing a significant role. Far more than a routine compliance check, it represents a shift in how government strengthens integrity, manages risk and builds capable institutions. These audits move the public service from merely reacting to corruption towards identifying early warning signs to prevent it before it takes root.
Corrupt acts are often concealed through complex arrangements, undisclosed business interests, unexplained wealth, and off-book transactions that can remain undetected for years. By the time investigations commence, as seen in the various commissions established by government to uncover misconduct, public funds have often already been diverted, confidence in institutions has been undermined, and the cost of recovery is substantial.
Lifestyle audits are helping rebalance this equation by annually assessing whether a public servant's standard of living is reasonably consistent with their known income, assets and declared financial interests. Introduced by the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) as an objective risk management tool, it assists in identifying financial anomalies that may warrant further inquiry, while reinforcing transparency and ethical conduct across government.
This preventative approach reflects international best practice in public sector governance. Strong institutions are built not only on enforcing the law but also through systems that detect risks early, discourage misconduct, and make corruption significantly more difficult to conceal. Lifestyle audits strengthen accountability long before disciplinary or criminal processes become necessary.
Importantly, they also reinforce a culture of ethical leadership. Public office carries a constitutional responsibility to act in the interests of citizens and not personal enrichment. Lifestyle audits give practical expression to Section 195 of the Constitution, which requires a high standard of professional ethics throughout the public service. It sends a clear message that transparency, accountability and responsible stewardship of public resources are non-negotiable principles of public administration.
The introduction of the audits form part of government's broader programme to professionalise the public service.
Announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa in the 2018 State of the Nation Address, lifestyle audits were institutionalised through the adoption of a Guide to implement Lifestyle Audits in the Public Service (March 2021), providing a framework for conducting lifestyle audits in the public service and have since become mandatory across all national and provincial departments. They are now firmly embedded within Strategic Priority 3 of the Medium-Term Development Plan 2024–2029, which seeks to build capable state institutions founded on professionalism, ethics and accountability.
The progress achieved thus far demonstrates that this reform is moving from policy into practice. By March 2025, 91% of national and provincial departments were implementing lifestyle audits, a significant increase from 61% in 2023. During the 2025 reporting cycle, lifestyle reviews were conducted on 8 982 members of the Senior Management Service (SMS) and more than 160 000 other public servants. Where unexplained financial discrepancies were identified, the matters were referred for further investigation.
These statistics are more than mere performance indicators. They demonstrate that accountability is becoming institutionalised across government. Importantly, the true value of lifestyle audits lies not simply in the number of assessments completed, but in the establishment of governance systems that continuously monitor risk, strengthen ethical conduct, and reinforce public confidence in state institutions.
Lifestyle audits in the public service are part of a broader integrity system alongside financial disclosures, ethics management, consequence management, internal controls, whistle-blower protections and independent investigations. All these mechanisms create interlocking safeguards that make corruption harder to commit, easier to detect, and quicker to address.
Government is now building on this momentum. Working alongside the Special Investigating Unit, departments are strengthening investigative capacity through using specialised investigators capable of supporting complex lifestyle audit enquiries. At the same time, a single regulatory framework is being developed under the Public Administration Management Act to make lifestyle audits compulsory across all three spheres of government. These reforms will improve consistency, strengthen oversight, and ensure that ethical governance becomes embedded throughout the public administration system.
Every improvement in integrity strengthens investor confidence, supports economic growth, and reinforces the credibility of the state. When citizens trust that public resources are managed responsibly, confidence in democratic institutions grows, creating a stronger foundation for inclusive development.
Building a capable state requires institutions that consistently uphold ethical leadership, transparency, and accountability. Lifestyle audits play a vital role in making this possible, demonstrating that the development of a professional, ethical, and capable developmental state that earns and deserves the trust of all South Africans is within our grasp.
*Hoogenraad-Vermaak is head of the Public Administration Ethics, Integrity and Disciplinary Technical Assistance Unit at the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA)
