Government is making steady progress in the enforcement of lifestyle audits, with seven of the country’s nine provinces having made some gains, as part of efforts to create a capable state.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said he would look into introducing lifestyle audits in the State of the Nation Address (SONA) of 2018. The lifestyle audit programme was initiated, following the President's 2019 SONA commitment to build a capable, ethical, and developmental state. The Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) then developed the Lifestyle Audit Framework, approved in 2021, with an accompanying implementation guide.
The process involves three sequential steps: lifestyle review, lifestyle investigation, and lifestyle audit - each triggered by evidence of lifestyle inconsistent with known income. From 1 April 2021, lifestyle audits became compulsory across all national and provincial departments.
The programme forms part of the Medium-Term Development Plan (MTDP) 2024–2029 Strategic Priority 3: Building a Capable, Ethical, and Developmental State.
Presentations made to Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration in April and June 2026 are showing progress. Previously, the public service was where assets were declared on paper with little verification and misrepresentation not being adequately addressed.
Compliance was sitting at 61% in 2023 and referrals for investigation were rare.
However, the presentations made to Parliament are showing that the tide is turning with compliance at 93% nationally and covering 8982 senior officials.
Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, the Western and Northern Capes were covered in the April report to Parliament.
In Gauteng the report stated that the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) was deployed as a primary audit partner.
The report found that 37% of accounting officers audited were categorised as high or medium risk. Additionally, the Premier of Gauteng referred 20 officials for further SIU investigation following audit findings. In addition, the gambling habits of public servants were identified as a systemic risk requiring urgent intervention. Added to that, ethics awareness sessions were extended to service providers, councillors, and civil society.
KwaZulu-Natal had 100% Senior Management Service (SMS) financial disclosure compliance achieved for five consecutive years. In addition, the provincial government’s Forensic Investigation Services Unit (reporting directly to the Premier since 2020) completed 159 investigations. To date, 186 disciplinary cases have been carried out and nine criminal cases have been opened while seven civil recovery processes have been put in place.
In the Western Cape, the Premier Alan Winde and all 11 provincial MECs, including their spouses and life partners, have been subjected to four rounds of comprehensive, independent lifestyle audits since 2020.
In the Northern Cape, a 38% non-submission rate has been acknowledged with the current audits in the province not covering spouses and dependents. With this gap through which hidden assets can pass undetected, the province is proposing that this be addressed. The province has called for the SIU to be given full proclamation powers.
In June the Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga, and Free State made presentations to the Committee.
In Mpumalanga, a Provincial Anti-Corruption Coordinating Committee (PACCC) was established and is made up of departmental officials, district municipalities, and provincial public entities.
Ethics officers and investigators have been trained by the DPSA and the Ethics Institute. In addition, lifestyle audit process flow formalised; full SMS financial disclosures for 2024/25 have been completed. In addition, the vetting of accounting officers was reported.
In the Free State, the report covers implementation progress, challenges affecting the rollout, and proposed guideline improvements.
Compliance is now at 93% nationally, covering 8 982 senior officials. The DPSA framework is being tested, challenged, and proposed for expansion by provinces themselves. The SIU is now a routine partner in integrity infrastructure. The central disciplinary registry will close the revolving door. Lifestyle audits -once a concept on a policy paper- are now a lived institutional reality across South Africa's provinces. The state is learning to check itself.
All seven provincial presentations directly support SONA 2026 commitments on building a capable state and the anti-corruption drive.
In the 2026 SONA, President Ramaphosa said an ethical, capable and developmental state is needed to build a stronger South Africa.
“A capable state needs committed and honest public servants with the right skills and a deep culture of service,” said the President. - SAnews.gov.za
