Gauteng leads the way in graft war
In a first for South Africa, Gauteng Premier David Makhura and all MECS have undergone rigorous interviews by the State Security Agency and are going through the final phase of this new process.
This is as Makhura kept his word that he will subject himself and his executive committee to lifestyle audits to ensure Team Gauteng is beyond reproach.
“We would like to drive the point home that we mean it when we say that we are building an ethical and capable state. It is worth noting, for the record, that the Gauteng executive council is the first to have undergone a lifestyle audit using the new framework developed by President Cyril Ramaphosa in line with the commitment he made in his first Sona [State of the Nation Address],” Makhura said.
Some of the measures and progress the province has made in safeguarding the public purse:
• The Gauteng Provincial Government championed procurement reform by introducing an open tender system. After introducing the system in 2014 we have institutionalised it through an act of the legislature.
• The signing of an integrity pact with all service providers who do business with the government; and the introduction of an e-procurement system.
• The Gauteng province is among the provinces commended for swift implementation of the Special Investigating Unit recommendations.
• Between 2014 and 2019, Gauteng made the greatest progress on audit outcomes, managing to achieve 65% clean audits and 100% unqualified audits in two successive years.
• The Office of the Premier and Gauteng Treasury is leading by example in achieving clean audits for nine successive years.
• In the past financial year, the administration has also gained new clean audits in entities such as
the Liquor Board, the Cradle of Humankind as well as the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
One of the bodies set up by Makhura to fight graft is the Ethics and Anticorruption Advisory Council. Terrence Nombembe, chairperson of the advisory council said: “We work hand in hand with the office of the Public Protector, National Director of Prosecutions and the Special Investigative Unit. Our work to the Gauteng government has saw us coming with key ideas, such as calling the special investigative unit (SIU) to probe investigations at various departments. You need capacity when dealing with corruption, that’s why we came with a landmark to recommend the appointment of the SIU.”