Government departments at both national and provincial levels as well as state entities have until January 31, 2024, to submit their respective Lifestyle Audit Reports for the 2022/23 financial year.
This follows a circular issued by Public Service and Administration Director-General, Ms Yoliswa Makhasi to all heads of national, provincial departments, and state components.
In the public service space, conducting lifestyle audits became compulsory in April 2021 for state entities, national and provincial departments.
DG Makhasi said heads of departments are required to analyse ethics and corruption risks as part of their department’s system of risk management, by using lifestyle audits as a legitimate management tool to prevent, detect fraud and corruption in the public service.
“In this regard, a Guide to implement lifestyle audits in the public service was issued to guide departments and government components on how to implement lifestyle audits in their respective institutions,” she said.
In terms of the Public Administration Management Act (PAMA), departments and government components are required to report issues of misconduct emanating from lifestyle audits to the Public Administration Ethics, Integrity, and Disciplinary Technical Assistance Unit (PAEIDTAU) within the DPSA.
PAEIDTAU is mandated to assess and monitor the implementation of lifestyle audits in the public service.
Ms Makhasi said the Offices of the Premier in provinces too are required to ensure that all provincial departments submit their reports to DPSA by January 31, 2024, via the link: https://forms.office.com/r/Nb2T6GCrCY.
