Government’s Deadline for Lifestyle Audit Reports

the government has given a deadline for all its departments and state entities to submit their Lifestyle Audit Reports. They need to get this done by January 31, 2024, for the 2022/23 financial year. The Public Service and Administration Director-General, Ms Yoliswa Makhasi, sent out a circular to all the heads of national, provincial departments, and state components to make sure this happens.

So, here’s the deal – starting from April 2021, it’s been mandatory for state entities, national and provincial departments to carry out these lifestyle audits. Ms Makhasi stressed the importance of analysing ethics and corruption risks as part of the department’s risk management system. Lifestyle audits are seen as a legit way to prevent and catch fraud and corruption in the public service.

And get this, they even put out a guide to help departments and government components figure out how to do these lifestyle audits properly. According to the Public Administration Management Act (PAMA), departments and government components have to report any misconduct found in these audits to the Public Administration Ethics, Integrity, and Disciplinary Technical Assistance Unit (PAEIDTAU) within the DPSA.

The PAEIDTAU has the job of checking that these lifestyle audits are being done right in the public service. Ms Makhasi also made it clear that the Offices of the Premier in provinces have to make sure all provincial departments get their reports to DPSA by January 31, 2024. They can submit their reports through this link: [https://forms.office.com/r/Nb2T6GCrCY](https://forms.office.com/r/Nb2T6GCrCY).

So, there you have it! The government is cracking down on fraud and corruption, and they’re serious about it. Let’s see if the departments and state entities meet the deadline!