Six candidates, 10 hours of interviews, many questions on independence, State Capture and Covid-19 corruption

Thursday’s whole-day interview process by Parliament’s ad hoc committee on the appointment of the auditor-general — incumbent Kimi Makwetu completes his non-renewable term on 30 November 2020 – unfolded in the public eye, broadcast on the parliamentary TV channel.

The process was the same for all candidates — five men and one woman. A brief introduction of the candidate, by the candidate, and then on to the first round of questions, from challenges of the job and what to do about these, how to ensure the AG’s independence, transformation of the audit profession and what to do about State Capture and Covid-19 and other corruption.

The interviews over 10 hours were sober and awfully polite. The only laughter came when Michael Sass, chief financial officer at the National Health Laboratories since 2018, after being asked to talk about himself, quipped:

“I’m not married yet. I see this is being televised…”

The other lighter moment came when Deputy Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke described herself as “I am a daddy’s girl” in reference to her father’s life value of “not accumulating, but adding value”.

Auditors, if not by character, then by the nature of their work, are not the most colourful characters. But South Africa’s auditor-general must have a core of steel.

Office of the Auditor-General teams out auditing provinces, municipalities and entities have been threatened and intimidated.

Despite repeated dismal, and particularly worsening local government audit outcomes, the AG found a lack of political leadership and consequences for contravening financial management standards and laws. Politicians have repeatedly ignored the AG’s recommendations.

That may change as the Public Audit Act has been amended to give the auditor-general teeth, like referring material irregularities to law enforcement agencies and issuing certificates of debt to personally hold responsible accounting officers such as directors-general and heads of department.

The six candidates agreed these powers would make a difference.

The candidates agreed all state-owned entities (SOEs) should be audited by the Office of the Auditor-General as the constitutionally and legislated highest audit office in South Africa. Currently, 14 of the 20 major SOEs are audited by the auditor-general, with Transnet coming into the fold in 2020. Others, like Eskom, use private auditors.

The six candidates agreed on the need for performance audits, variously described as “dynamic” and “punchier”, that could assess risk, be more responsive and facilitate oversight. The traditional annual audits are published a year behind.

The six candidates agreed the AG’s independence was “paramount” and “pivotal”, as was the duty to do the job without fear or favour – and in the public interest.

The six candidates agreed that the role of the auditor-general was not to be a corruption buster but to produce detailed reports on how money is spent against service delivery with the aim of promoting oversight by Parliament to hold accountable those in charge of the purse strings.

When asked directly about the current socio-economic situation, with direct questions on State Capture and Covid-19 personal protective equipment (PPE) corruption, some candidates were more at ease with talking about current affairs than others. 

Asked directly about corruption, Northern Cape Premier’s Office Chief Financial Officer Moses Gasela stayed away from using the word, talking instead of “leakage of funds”. But, he added resolutely, “when there is prima facie proof of wrongdoing, prima facie proof of corruption” this must be referred to law enforcement agencies.

Trade and Industry Department Chief Financial Officer Shabeer Khan similarly sidestepped the issue, not saying corruption, preferring “leakage”, but emphasising that the auditing job “must ensure all rands are spent correctly”.

Edmond Shoko-Lekhuleni, seconded to the continental English-speaking auditor-generals’ institution AFROSAI-E, said:

“I’d ensure that the Office of the Auditor-General is not turned into another crime-fighting machinery…” as it was about bringing along the auditees.

Zakariya Hoosain, until 2019 the Western Cape Treasury head who does contract work while studying for his master’s degree, bluntly linked corruption to loss of public trust. Auditing rigour and detail were crucial to restore governance.

Maluleke said Covid-19 has highlighted the urgency to deal with poverty, unemployment and inequality. Collaborative action was needed for that, alongside commitment to transparency and accountability.

Makwetu’s term ends in four months. The former deputy AG was appointed 1 December 2013, taking over as auditor-general from Terence Nombembe, who became auditor-general on 1 December 2006, after Shauket Fakie, to whom he was deputy.