JOHANNESBURG - The government has claimed strong progress in rolling out lifestyle audits across at least seven of the country’s nine provinces.
These audits aim to boost accountability, drive ethical leadership, and build a more capable state.
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Head of Public Administration Ethics, Integrity and Disciplinary Technical Assistance, Salomon Hoogenraad-Vermaak, says public servants at a certain salary grade are required to undergo a lifestyle audit at least once every two years.
"Compared to when we started in 2022, the implementation of lifestyle audits is progressing quite well. This is one of the government's mechanisms to address corruption and improve governance by focusing on transparency, accountability and consequence management,” Hoogenraad-Vermaak said
He said all senior management service (SMS) members, from salary levels 13 to 16, are required to undergo lifestyle audits every year.
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On the other hand, junior and middle managers, from salary levels 9 to 12, are required to undergo lifestyle audits every second year.
“But with that, all ethics officers, all finance officers, all supply chain managers and other designated groups have to do lifestyle audits yearly.”