Lifestyle audits done on Gauteng MECs – Makhura
All MECs in Gauteng have been subjected to a lifestyle audit to verify if their assets match their income and will further be subjected to a polygraph test to conclude the process.
This was announced by Gauteng premier David Makhura in the Gauteng legislature on Tuesday.
Makhura told the legislature that the State Security Agency looked at the income, tax compliance, assets and even verified academic qualifications of all the MECs in the province.
He said the MECs will now be subjected to a polygraph test to set a new standard for the executive. “The polygraph test is a gold standard for us. We want to set a precedent where even when people have been appointed to positions, they must undergo this process.
“We don’t know what the polygraph question will be. It is science. It is already a policy of the department of public service and administration. A polygraph test is done by state security to check the consistency of your responses,” Makhura said.
He said that lifestyle audits will be introduced to officials of departments and the provincial government will prioritise those who enjoy the biggest slice of the budget which include the departments of health, education, transport, human settlements and infrastructure.
“Lifestyle audits will be for all managers, not just senior managers. This process will go to those who often do not get the spotlight."
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that lifestyle audits would be conducted on his cabinet members and senior officials in the public sector when he took office.
In April, Ramaphosa told parliament that the introduction of the lifestyle audits for his cabinet had taken longer than he anticipated but said “much work has been done on the approach and methodology”.
Makhura maintains that local law enforcement agencies are working with other countries to help track down and identify suspects in the Mdlalose's tavern mass murder case.
Sixteen people were killed and seven injured when a group of armed men opened fire inside Mdlalose's tavern in Nomzamo informal settlement on July 10.
Makhura gave a brief update on the case yesterday, saying the killers have fled to one of the neighbouring countries, but police are closing down on the suspects.
“The police have identified the killers in the Nomzamo murder case and these are people who have left the country. The police have traced them to one of the countries in the Southern African Development Community region.
“Police in Gauteng are working with the authorities in that affected country to bring those killers back here. We need them back here to face the might of the law. We also want to understand why they carry out these killings,” said Makhura.
More than 130 AK-47 cartridges were collected at the crime scene.
Among those killed, only one person was a Lesotho national and the remaining majority came from Umzimkhulu in KwaZulu-Natal.
Grieving families are disappointed that no arrests have been recorded in this case.
“The police have failed us. We were promised that suspects would be arrested before the funeral but weeks have passed on and nobody has been arrested. As affected families we are disappointed by the false promises but I am not surprised because I don’t have confidence in the police,” said Mpumi Chirwa, a sister to Daliwongwa Mluma.
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