Pretoria: In a crackdown against wrongdoing, the Gauteng Provincial Government has removed three provincial heads of department following their failure of lifestyle audits. This decisive action was announced by Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi during a media briefing.

According to South African Government News Agency, earlier this year, a report by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) revealed that at least 37% of senior officials in the provincial government had failed lifestyle audits. Officials whose lifestyles were inconsistent with the audits were given an opportunity to provide explanations. The provincial government, in collaboration with the SIU, notified the affected employees and directed them to address and rectify the identified discrepancies.

Over the weekend, Premier Lesufi received the final reports from the SIU. Of the four outstanding reports concerning the HODs, three resulted in failed audit outcomes. Consequently, the Premier decided to immediately remove these HODs from their positions. The Director-General will facilitate this process and publicly announce the changes in departmental leadership.

The Premier emphasized that this move reaffirms the commitment to ensure that departments are led by individuals with impeccable credentials. Additionally, the SIU is conducting lifestyle audits for all supply chain and finance officials in departments, with reports to be submitted starting with the Office of the Premier.

During the media briefing, Premier Lesufi also released 47 forensic investigation reports from institutions including the SIU, the National Prosecuting Authority, and the Public Protector. These reports cover investigations into alleged cases of abuse of state resources, irregular expenditure, theft, and corruption, among others. The Premier expressed the government’s commitment to not tolerate any form of corruption and to implement the recommendations from these reports.

A committee within the Office of the Premier has been established to track the implementation of these recommendations and financial recoveries. The office is enhancing collaboration with the Asset Forfeiture Unit to support asset recovery efforts. The provincial government is also teaming up with the SIU to facilitate fund recovery using the Special Tribunal established by the President to expedite the recovery of state funds lost due to corruption or irregular expenditure.