Question NW1480 to the Minister of Public Works
14 June 2018 - NW1480
Robertson, Mr K to ask the Minister of Public Works
(1) Whether, with reference to the reply of the President, Mr C M Ramaphosa, to the debate on the State of the Nation Address on 22 February 2018 to implement lifestyle audits, (a) he, (b) senior management service members in his department and/or (c) any of the heads of entities reporting to him have undergone a lifestyle audit in the past three financial years; if not, have any plans been put in place to perform such audits; if so, in each case, what are the details of the (i) date of the lifestyle audit, (ii) name of the person undergoing the audit, (iii) name of the auditing firm conducting the audit and (iv) outcome of the audit; (2) Whether he will furnish Mr K P Robertson with copies of the lifestyle audit reports?
Reply:
(1) The Department of Public Works has not conducted any lifestyle audits in the categories stipulated by the Honourable Member. Nonetheless, Government uses a system of financial disclosures as prescribed by the Public Service Regulations of 2016. The system provides for the disclosure of shareholding; directorships and partnerships; equities; income generating assets; sponsorships; remunerative work outside an employee’s formal employment; gifts and hospitality; and other financial interests. Additionally, employees are required to make related party disclosures.
Financial interests disclosed by senior managers are verified by the Public Service Commission (PSC). The same is monitored by the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) and any situation hinting at a conflict of interest is identified and addressed with the employee concerned by first informing the Executive Authority. Moreover, the Auditor-General South Africa (AGSA), has unfettered access to financial disclosures of employees by virtue of Section 15 (1) of the Public Audit Act, 2004 [Act No. 25 of 2004]. The AGSA is therefore empowered to conduct an audit on the lifestyle of any public service employees to verify the financial position of such persons and establish conflicts of interests, if any.
One of my key priorities as the Minister of Public Works ever since my appointment to this portfolio in 2011 has been zero tolerance to fraud and corruption. To this extent, through the Turnaround programme, systems have been put in place to deal with these challenges with visible successes. We have established the Anti-Corruption Unit, which has conducted a number of investigations on suspicious activities. In some instances, the cases were investigated together with the Special Investigating Unit (SIU). We therefore support the call by the President, His Excellency, Mr. Cyril Ramaphosa, to conduct lifestyle audits and believe that these will be an effective tool in the fight against fraud and corruption.
(2) No. There are no reports of such audits, since the lifestyle audits, in the strict sense of the term, have yet to be conducted by the Department. Once the guidelines are finalized on how these audits should be conducted we will be in a position to implement them.
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