Lesufi confirms moves to axe several department heads after lifestyle audit findings

Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi has confirmed he will be making changes in his government in a process that will target a number of provincial heads, some of whom have failed lifestyle audits.

This comes after the Sunday Times earlier this month reported that Lesufi was believed to have been contemplating axing several provincial heads for a number of transgressions, including failing lifestyle audits and not meeting set targets.

Lesufi was also said to have been angered by reports that his provincial government was spending R34m a month on office rental spaces.

His government having to send back to the National Treasury a whopping R1.8bn in unspent budget is also said to have worsened matters.

Lesufi on Thursday said his party, the ANC, had raised concerns about the capacity of the state in his province and urged him to make changes.

He said on Thursday that these changes were imminent, but they have had to be delayed to give the Auditor-General of South Africa (AG) space to conclude departmental audits.

Lesufi confirmed that he would take action on the departmental heads immediately after the auditing was done.

“We’d be reckless to make changes now because we are going through audits with the AG,” said Lesufi. “The AG is auditing departments so we want to give the AG space to conclude this process and immediately after we’ll make the necessary changes and strengthen the departments that need to be strengthened.”

The Sunday Times had reported that a Gauteng ethics advisory council report this week revealed several senior managers had failed lifestyle audits and were doing business with the state.

The report fingered the provincial department of education as the biggest culprit, with 124 employees identified as conducting business with the state

According to the report, more than a third of the 19 senior managers, including chief executives and department heads, who went through lifestyle audits were either classified as high-risk or completely failed them.

It also found that 152 government employees were conducting business with the state in contravention of the Public Administration Management Act, which prohibits government employees from doing so.

It found there was an increase in the number of officials engaged in business with the state in three departments, including education, human settlements and infrastructure development. The report fingered the provincial department of education as the biggest culprit, with 124 employees identified as conducting business with the state.

Highly placed sources in the Gauteng government told the Sunday Times the premier would soon axe a number of department heads.

“At this moment we can't say when, but this decision is imminent,” said a source close to the decision.