“Growing South Africa together for a capable and

Transcript:“Growing South Africa together for a capable and:
“Growing South Africa together for a capable and ethical Public Service” 1 MONITORING REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENATION OF LIFESTYLE AUDITS BY GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS AND CHALLENGES EXPERIENCED Aim of presentation To provide the Portfolio Committee with an overview of the monitoring report on the implementation of lifestyle audits by government departments and challenges experienced. Overview of presentation Background Introduction Implementation support Feedback on 2022/2023 FY Findings on 2022/2023 FY Challenges Way forward Conclusion Background On 1 April 2021 it became compulsory for government departments to conduct lifestyle audits. A Guide to implement lifestyle audits in the Public Service that outlines the process to implement lifestyle audits was adopted and shared with departments in 2021. Extensive awareness were raised, including the hosting of a Lifestyle Audit Indaba in 2021, and with various different types of training interventions performed by the Public Administration Ethics, Integrity and Disciplinary technical Assistance Unit (PAEIDTAU). To monitor implementation, the DPSA in November 2022 issued a circular, In 2021 the DPSA issued a circular to all government departments, requesting them to report to the DPSA by end of January 2023 on lifestyle audits conducted for the 2022/2023 period. Background Lifestyle audits are a decentralized process – each department conducts their lifestyle audits based on the risks identified, as per Regulation 22 of the Public Service Regulations, 2016. The PAEIDTAU is mandated ito the Public Administration Management Act, 2014 (PAMA), Section 15 (4)(a) and 15(4)(d) to: provide technical assistance and support to institutions in all spheres of government strengthen government oversight of ethics, integrity and discipline, and where necessary, in cases where systemic weaknesses are identified, to intervene. Background Lifestyle Reviews: First step of the process, where ethics officers conduct lifestyle reviews by verifying information submitted onto the eDisclosure system. This is verified against information of the Deeds office (DPSA pays for the data), the eNatis system and CIPC system. This information is integrated into the eDisclosure system, with all ethics officers having direct access. Once a year, the DPSA updates the information. Ethics Officers also consults internal records, such as gifts registers, the Central Supplier Database, register for employees performing other remunerative work, etc. If unexplained wealth of conflict of interests are detected, a file is forwarded to the investigator to perform an investigation. If nothing is found, the lifestyle audit process are closed. Background Lifestyle Investigations: Departmental investigators investigate cases that is referred by the Ethics Office.