Holding SA leaders to account through lifestyle audits

SUPPOSE South Africa is to turn the tide on fraud and corruption.

- GCWALISILE KHANYILE

In that case, the country’s political leaders, including President Cyril Ramaphosa, need to lead by example and subject themselves to lifestyle audits and be transparent with the process and findings to the public.

This is according to Devoshum Moodley-Veera, an Integrity Activist, PhD Student at the School of Public Leadership and ACCERUS at Stellenbosch University.

Lifestyle audits have become topical after a recently released report revealed that 37% of senior Gauteng provincial government officials failed their mandatory lifestyle audits, designed to expose corruption and financial misconduct.

On the other hand, the National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC), an entity of the Department of Human Settlements, said it has referred more than 150 employees for lifestyle audits.

Moodley-Veera describes a lifestyle audit as one of the many tools to combat fraud and corruption in the public sector. It is a detective, preventative, corrective, and monitoring tool.

“Political leaders must have lifestyle audits instituted against them, and be very clear and transparent about their lifestyle audit process. They need to start with the change. If they are calling for lifestyle audits, why are lifestyle audits not done on them as well?

“In the public service, lifestyle audits need to be done throughout. The ministers, deputy ministers, Director-Generals, Members of Parliament, Portfolio Committee Members, Chief Directors, Directors, the deputy directors, the ANC's top six and members of other political parties must also undergo lifestyle audits. Even the president and the deputy president need to go through this,” Moodley-Veera said.

She said this would be a step in the right direction for the state towards regaining public trust, because it is necessary to perform lifestyle audits on individuals entrusted with the resources of “our” country.