Lifestyle Audit Investigators from National and Provincial spheres of Government in South Africa benefit from the specialised training

The Public Administration, Ethics Integrity and Disciplinary, Technical Assistance Unit (PAEIDTAU) within the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA), in partnership with Cowater International, implemented the Strengthening Ethics and Integrity Project (SEIP), conducted two full days of training, which were hybrid sessions, on the results of the Lifestyle Audit Investigator survey, conducted in 2023, and a General Fraud Training. The purpose of the survey was to understand the knowledge and skills level of the current cohorts of investigators in the public service to support them in conducting lifestyle audits investigation. The first session was conducted on the 8^th of May 2024 to National departments, followed by a second session on the 9^th of May 2024 to Provincial departments.

Since 2021, the national and provincial departments have been implementing lifestyle audits as a legitimate management tool to fight fraud and corruption in the public service. PAEIDTAU is responsible for monitoring the implementation of lifestyle audits by public service departments.

On the 8^{th of} May, over 120 investigators attended the hybrid training sessions from the National departments, of whom close to 40 attended in person. In the second session, conducted on the 9th of May, over 175 Lifetyle Audit investigators from the Provincial departments attended, of which close to 30 attended in person.

The sessions included two daily presentations, including the results of the Lifestyle Audit investigator survey conducted by the Department of Public Service and Administration between August 2023 and September 2023. The presentation highlighted key survey findings, recommendations, and actions PAEIDTAU is taking to address them. The second presentation was a General Fraud Training session, which introduced global statistics of fraud, fraud concepts, and tools that can be used to deal with fraud in an institution.

Following this training, the DPSA’s Public Administration Ethics, Integrity and Disciplinary Technical Assistance Unit (PAEIDTAU) aims to further enhance the knowledge of the Lifestyle Audits Investigators by developing procedures and tools to be used by investigators when performing Lifestyle audits investigation. This will further strengthen the overall anti-corruption culture within national and provincial departments in the public service and raise awareness of gender and inclusivity considerations. Further procedures and tools will be developed and presented to capacitate the Lifestyle Audits investigators during the 2024/2025 financial year.

One function of the DPSA’s PAEIDTAU is to provide technical assistance and support to departments regarding ethics, integrity, and discipline matters. Lifestyle Audit investigation training is one intervention employed by PAEIDTAU to assist departments in fighting fraud and corruption in the public service.

Mr Isaac Kabini is the Director for Monitoring and Evaluation, Oversight, and Interventions Management within the DPSA