Senior Gauteng govt officials handling finances will be subjected to SIU lifestyle audits

JOHANNESBURG - Senior Gauteng government officials who handle the province's finances are set to be subjected to lifestyle audits by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU).  

The provincial government said employees in the supply chain management sector, which deals primarily with tenders, will be the first on the line.  

This is part of government’s strategy to deal with corruption within its ranks.  

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The provincial government recently dismissed five of its senior employees for unlawful conduct that saw Gauteng waste about R600 million on refurbishing a private hospital.  

“The province will use SIU to conduct lifestyle audits under a secondary agreement that was done in 2023,” said government spokesperson Vuyo Mhaga.  

“The lifestyle process is being implemented in a phased-in approach, the first phase involved the executive and the premier, the second involved the HODs [heads of departments] and CEO of entities and departments.”