Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi has reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to integrity, transparency, and accountability by acting on the results of lifestyle audits conducted across senior provincial officials.

This follows his earlier vow to remove all provincial department heads implicated in unethical conduct, starting with those entrenched in supply chain management.

Lesufi said the intention is to restore public trust and purge corruption from government ranks. The crackdown was triggered by a report from the Gauteng Ethics Advisory Council, which exposed a disturbing pattern of senior officials living lavish lifestyles far beyond what their official earnings would allow.

“Ethics must not only be verified, they must be lived,” he said. By October 2024, 750 senior managers were in the provincial administration, and 732 of them had completed or were undergoing intensive vetting, reaching a 98 percent compliance rate.

Lesufi stressed that vetting alone isn’t enough to ensure ethical conduct.

On Wednesday, during a media briefing, Lesufi announced the removal of three Heads of Department (HODs) after they failed their lifestyle audits for the second time. The audits, conducted by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), revealed that 37% of senior officials assessed were either high-risk or failed to satisfactorily explain their finances.

 “Of the four outstanding reports of these HODs, three of them came back again as failed audit outcomes. And on the basis of this, I have taken a decision to immediately remove these HODs from their positions,” said Lesufi. 

Although the names of those removed have not yet been disclosed, Lesufi confirmed that the Director-General will manage their exits and issue a public announcement.

“The DG will facilitate this process and make the public announcement on the changes of that administrative head of the department,” he added.

Lesufi reiterated that all HODs, CEOs, and leaders of provincial government agencies have been subjected to lifestyle audits.

Officials flagged during the audit process were given an opportunity to explain discrepancies. Those whose explanations failed to satisfy the audit standards faced disciplinary action. “We engaged stakeholders, civil society, and members of the media responsibly, to support the province’s mission to foster a culture of integrity and openness,” he said.

A secondment agreement between the Office of the Premier and the SIU came into effect in March 2025, allowing for a broader audit of officials involved in procurement and financial management. Workshops were held to educate these employees on the audit methodology and guide them through the submission of documentation.

The SIU is currently finalising departmental reports, starting with the Office of the Premier. “As soon as we get these reports, we will also make the information available to members of our society,” Lesufi said.

He also confirmed that all three newly appointed Members of the Executive Council (MECs) have undergone lifestyle audits. He plans to meet with the new MEC for Environment, Edward Botha, to ensure he complies as well.

“I am meeting him next Tuesday and I will also this week to persuade him do the lifestyle audits immediately, so that we can be in a position to have 100% lifestyle audits of all members of the executive council,” Lesufi said.

Lesufi also detailed several longstanding cases that have reached finality. The Department of Social Development had a procurement fraud and irregularities case registered with the Hawks on 12 April 2008, which is now finalised.

The Department of Health faced multiple procurement irregularities, including one registered under SIU Proclamation 755-09 in 2011. Additional fraud cases in the department were opened at the Johannesburg Central Police Station. A money laundering case under the “Gauteng Report” was also reported to police under case number 549-01-2024.

He clarified that many of the reports being released today were initiated at the departmental level before his appointment.

“The reports that I am releasing today were reports that were instituted by the Department, and they were not forwarded to the Office of the Premier. 

“We are releasing 47. There are others that are going to be released,” he said.

Lesufi said the recommendations from these reports have been submitted to the relevant MECs for implementation. A committee in the Office of the Premier will now monitor the progress to ensure compliance.

“We are proud that we are releasing this report to vindicate our commitment that we will not tolerate any form of corruption,” Lesufi said.

A full summary of the 47 reports will be made available via a link on the Gauteng Government website.

hope.ntanzi@iol.co.za 

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