Lifestyle audits: action must be taken against corrupt officials

There have been growing calls that government officials must be forced to undergo lifestyle audits for a while now. There’s been murmurings that it will happen, but it’s the usual cheap words as nothing has transpired and corruption, particularly at municipal level, is as rife as ever.

What’s worse is that very few corrupt officials are brought to book. And yet more hard-earned taxpayers’ money is stolen on a daily basis, with little or no accountability. Until now.

The City of Ekurhuleni’s mayor Tania Campbell this week said they will introduce lifestyle audits for all councillors in a motion after council passed the decision with an overwhelming majority.

Campbell said: “All councillors in Ekurhuleni will be subjected to a lifestyle audit in two phases. The first phase, to be conducted in the next six months, will start with the executive mayor, speaker, whip, mayoral committee, chairs, leaders and chief whips of all political parties.”

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She added: “Once this process is concluded, all remaining councillors will undergo this vetting process. If the conduct of a councillor is found to be in breach of the councillor code of conduct, the speaker will refer the matter to the city’s ethics and integrity committee for further investigation and scrutiny.”

Campbell noted: “As we have witnessed with state capture, the tentacles of corruption know no bounds. If left unchecked, they squeeze their way into the pockets of compliant politicians – always at the expense of service delivery. These lifestyle audits will go a long way in the fight against corruption.”

It’s about time. For far too long, corrupt government officials have got away with murder. While not entirely foolproof, lifestyle audits are a tool that can be used to gauge if there are any irregular financial movements within bank accounts.

While the City of Ekurhuleni’s intentions are solid and welcome, now comes the real hard part. If authorities are found to be corrupt, action needs to be taken.