Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za

3-minute read
10 May 2025 | 15:46 CAT

37% senior Gauteng government officials fail lifestyle audits. (Image Credits : Reuters)

Concerns about unethical governance are again in the spotlight following the latest report by the Gauteng Ethics and Advisory Council, which highlights delays in the vetting of senior managers and the unchecked prevalence of illicit business dealings with the state.

Speaking to Radio Islam International, Professor Alex van den Heever from the Wits School of Governance warned that the delayed vetting process compromises public trust and allows top officials to engage in side hustles that directly conflict with their official duties.

“If they’ve got side hustles that involve work with the state, then they have conflicts of interest and they’re not focused on their job. And the more senior the people are, the more their focus is compromised,” said Van den Heever.

The report also flags concerning results from lifestyle audits of provincial employees, revealing that many are living well beyond their state-paid means. According to Van den Heever, this suggests a broader systemic failure. “At the top level of the system, there is no real attempt to ensure that there is performance from the system itself.”

He placed the blame squarely on the leadership, stating, “It’s a leadership problem this stuff is allowed to proliferate because the top isn’t interested in doing its job.”

Despite South Africa’s active civil society and numerous oversight bodies, Van den Heever criticised the lack of enforcement and consequences. “We are not seeing people removed or prosecuted, even when irregular expenditure continues unchecked for over a decade. That’s criminal conduct.”

He further argued that while civil society continues to expose wrongdoing, the existing accountability mechanisms fail to act. “People have become immune to criticism because the people that are criticizing them can’t actually take them out.”

While the private sector has its own ethical challenges, Van den Heever explained that the key difference lies in consequences. “If you behave like the public sector in the private space, you go out of business.”

The report stands as yet another urgent call for ethical reform in public governance—one which civil society continues to amplify, but government has yet to heed.

Listen to the full interview on The Daily Round-Up with Moulana Junaid Kharsany and Professor Alex van den Heever here.