Lifestyle audits of Western Cape cabinet members reveal no conflicts of interest
When I became Premier last year, I committed to clean and open governance. One of my commitments was lifestyle audits for all members of my cabinet and I am pleased to say that I have received and studied the final report which shows that all members of cabinet and their spouses live a lifestyle in line with their income and that there were no conflicts of interest.
My commitment was that my cabinet would undergo lifestyle audits at the beginning of the term and again at the end, to ensure that no one is able to use their position on the provincial executive to enrich themselves.
These audits, conducted by Nexus Forensic Services, an independent contractor appointed through an open tender process, therefore covered a two year period from June 1 2017 up to 31 May 2019 (when the cabinet was appointed).
The audits included Intelligence Searches (BIS) on myself and all members of the cabinet and our spouses or life partners. It also included questionnaires and requested supporting documents for the declarations made on the questionnaires. Finally, Nexus analysed each members’ bank statements.
The final report found that all ministers and their spouses led lifestyles commensurate with their income during the two year period and did not pick up any conflicts of interest. They have however advised that the Director General, Harry Malila, should request members of the executive to declare interests in any dormant or non-active business entities, in line with best practice. In the interests of full transparency, the Director General will be doing this.
I am pleased by this outcome and that we have been able to complete this process. We may be in the midst of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, but we continue to deliver on government services and the commitments I made to the people of this province.
In my very first State of the Province Address, I said: "We will live and be held accountable to our values as a government and we will continue to build the capable state on this foundation." I thank my cabinet for submitting themselves to this process, showing their individual commitment to the values of a clean, open and transparent government.
