Premier

1. Yes.
   In a country like ours, which has been plagued by corruption for decades, lifestyle audits are a key tool in the fight to combat corruption, but also to restore public trust in elected representatives. This is an assertion that I feel very strongly about, but also one which has been echoed by President Ramaphosa on numerous occasions in recent years.

However, the in many parts of our country the follow through has not reflected the stated intent. To the best of my knowledge, President Ramaphosa first pledged to subject the national cabinet to lifestyle audits during his reply to the State of the Nation debate in 2018. Since then, the process has been subject to endless delays, to such an extent that in March 2024, the audits were understood to be “under way” – the better part of a decade and multiple cabinet reshuffles after they were first announced.

In many of South Africa’s other provinces, we see the same story play out. Both David Makhura and Phanyaza Lesufi promised to perform lifestyle audits of the Gauteng provincial cabinet, but we are still not aware of any results. More than this, earlier this month we were told that 37% of senior officials in the Gauteng Provincial Government have failed their lifestyle audits. Imagine running a government when nearly four of every ten senior officials are subject to suspicion of unethical enrichment.

In other provinces, the story is the same – or worse. The ANC promised lifestyle audits in KZN in 2020, but to my knowledge, nothing has happened since. In the Eastern Cape, the same story played out almost exactly. In the Free State, lifestyle audits were announced in 2022 and were said to be under way by 2023 – but no results have ever been made public. In the Northern Cape, it appears that the audits were actually carried out, but that no action has been taken against anyone implicated in wrongdoing.

And of course, in Mpumalanga, Limpopo, and North West, it seems that next to no effort – not even a cursory one – has been made toward this vital measure of accountability at all.

And while the lack of a lifestyle audit does not automatically mean someone is guilty of wrongdoing, we must also note that there are many senior government officials and elected representatives in our country who live in mansions, drive luxurious cars, and live off a diet of only the most expensive food and drink – all while earning a taxpayer-funded salary that simply should not allow them to afford such a lifestyle. Sadly, far too many of us have become far too used to letting them get away with it.
In the Western Cape, things are different.

As the member is likely aware, I commissioned lifestyle audits of all members of my Cabinet when I first became Premier in 2019, and I repeated that process as we transitioned to a new parliamentary term last year.

When I last answered a question in on this matter in this House, lifestyle audits had been completed on all provincial ministers aside from the three newly appointed members of the Western Cape’s cabinet. I have been informed that these audits were completed last year, and that lifestyle audits of all current Members of the Executive serving as Provincial Ministers, as well as their spouses or life partners, were conducted and concluded in 2024. 

The scope of the lifestyle audits was to analyse and verify financial and other relevant information to provide an opinion on whether the individual’s lifestyle is commensurate with his/her income. The audits also sought to determine whether any such income or any interest held, could cause a possible conflict in his/her role as a Cabinet member. The information analysed included the following:

1. Total income or sources of funds of the individual;
2. Large and/or significant expenditure transactions and funding thereof;
3. Business interests and resultant dividends/profit distribution or any other related income;
4. Personal investments and resultant interest – including shares and bonds;
5. Assets of the individual;
6. Liabilities of the individual;
7. Declaration of any transfers of assets to family members, family trusts and other persons or entities;
8. Credit information;
9. Income tax compliance and disclosure;
10. Foreign travel, hospitality and other benefits of a material nature;
11. Verification of the highest qualification.

The audits did not identify any potential conflicts of interest. Lifestyles were found to be commensurate with incomes where income or remuneration was earned. In short, no member of this cabinet has been found to live above their means, or to have unduly enriched themselves.

The Western Cape has a hard-won reputation as a province that is vastly less corrupt than any other, or than national government. We intend to do everything we can to uphold that reputation, and to ensure that there is full transparency and accountability for how the taxpayer’s money is spent in the Western Cape.

2. Lifestyle audits of the Provincial Cabinet in the Seventh Administration have already been completed. Please refer to the reply given under (1) above.