Gauteng premier David Makhura orders lifestyle audits on his 10 MECs

Gauteng premier David Makhura has announced that the State Security Agency will be doing lifestyle audits on all cabinet members of his government.

This comes amid allegations of tender irregularities at the provincial department of health which have implicated MEC Bandile Masuku.

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Addressing the media on Friday, Makhura said his government had been thinking about the right state institution to choose since he made a public commitment to introduce lifestyle audits at the start of his second term last year.

“As part of the commitment to clean governance in Gauteng, I have also committed in my state of the province address last year, that we will do lifestyle audits for all the members of the executive council ... myself and the 10 MECs.

“It took a while to implement this resolution because we were engaging different state institutions to say which one would be able to do that. I am glad to say to you that from next week, the State Security Agency will be doing lifestyle audits on me and the 10 MECs in the Gauteng provincial government,” said Makhura.

He said he was hoping the audits would be completed in six to eight weeks.

Makhura said the move was part of fighting corruption which was meant to ensure that there was no-one in his cabinet who was living beyond their means. The announcement was part of Makhura's update on his government's fight against corruption after damning revelations about involvement of personal protective equipment tenders at the department of health.

Makhura said that for six years his government had applied an open tender system which worked well for his government — until this year.

“The hyenas were at the door, the thieves were at the door. Once Covid-19 happened, the open tender system was not being implemented, the hyenas attacked and they brought great disrepute to our government,” said Makhura.

He said the investigation now under way at the department of health by the SIU has led to criminal charges being opened against two officials, one of whom has already resigned.

Makhura said criminal cases will be opened where there is evidence while the investigations are still ongoing in the department of health.

He said that the head of that department has started disciplinary action against the implicated official who was still employed by the department.

“The SIU is making headway in this investigation concerning Covid-19 procurement in Gauteng ... they have been able to identify that there is a need to open criminal cases based on the evidence of the work which they have done so far,” said Makhura.

He said that the two officials have allegedly been central to what he called a “large-scale grand corruption”. 

Makhura said his government does not want to lose more money or see more corruption in his government. He said the SIU would be pursuing companies implicated in corruption at the department.