Gauteng will do lifestyle audits on the executive... sometime

Gauteng premier David Makhura says he is still committed in doing lifestyle audits in provincial government but 'this has to be done the right way'.

This comes as Democratic Alliance MPL Jack Bloom accused Makhura of delaying the lifestyle audits on the members of his executive.

Makhura told the provincial legislature that he is still engaging relevant institutions which will help conduct the lifestyle audits.

This angered the DA‚ which feels that the lifestyle audits are not viewed with any urgency by provincial government. “I am very disappointed by the slow progress in this matter as corruption is rife in provincial government departments and lifestyle audits are a useful tool to pick up areas for investigation‚” said Bloom.

But Makhura’s spokesperson Phumla Sekhonyane told TimesLIVE on Wednesday that provincial government wants to follow due process and utilise the relevant agencies in the audits.

“In government there are agencies that are empowered to conduct lifestyle audits. When you take a decision to have lifestyle audits‚ you have to consult these agencies. It is true that the premier said we are consulting with the police and the SA Revenue Service‚ so that we follow the law.

"We don’t want to embark on a process that will end us in courts. [The issue of lifestyle audits] is something that the premier takes very seriously‚” said Sekhonyane.

She added that Makhura will on Wednesday meet the ethics council which he established to advise provincial government on issues of integrity. This council is led by former auditor-general Terence Nombembe.

“The premier’s intention is to see the lifestyle audits happening in this term of administration. Obviously‚ we are now dependent on the advice and consultation from the agencies that are empowered to conduct the lifestyle audits‚” Sekhonyane said.

In his statement‚ Bloom argued that the premier should not only rely on state agencies for the audits. “He doesn’t have to wait for a state agency to do these audits; private companies can do it.”