DG defies minister’s lifestyle audit order - TimesLIVE

Basic education minister Siviwe Gwarube and the department’s director-general (DG), Mathanzima Mweli, are embroiled in a cold war as Mweli refuses to be subjected to a lifestyle audit by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU).

This is the latest episode in the long-running turf war between the DA’s Gwarube and Mweli since Gwarube’s appointment after the formation of the government of national unity in 2024.

The two have been at each other’s throats since Gwarube questioned the government’s R11bn school nutrition programme, suggesting it should move from the control of provinces and be centralised at the national level.

The two have lately been fighting over the primary education textbook supply tender worth more than R1.6bn after revelations that the department had enlisted the services of an unqualified and inexperienced supplier among its service providers.

Gwarube wants the tender to be halted after she ordered a forensic probe; Mweli has insisted it should go ahead.

Sources in the department of basic education (DBE) this week indicated that the tensions between the minister and her DG were so high that he had sent a lawyer’s letter to her, refusing to be subjected to a lifestyle audit.

It is understood that in that letter, Mweli cited his constitutional right to privacy and said that a lifestyle audit process was not a legal obligation in terms of the employment contract.

This was despite him, according to well-placed officials, allowing those reporting to him, such as deputy director-generals (DDGs), the chief director, and others, to have their lifestyles probed by the SIU.

Basic education department director-general Mathanzima Mweli. Picture: (Mathanzima Mweli/ twitter) In his state of the nation address in 2021, President Cyril Ramaphosa declared that lifestyle audits were compulsory for ministers, deputy ministers, DGs and other senior government officials.

Gwarube, through spokesperson Lukhanyo Vangqa, said the DBE had entered into a service level agreement with the SIU on lifestyle audits, with all senior officials complying apart from Mweli.

“The secondment agreement was signed between the SIU and the DBE on June 15 2026,” Vangqa said. “Phase 1 of the lifestyle audits has commenced, and it focuses on the DG, DDGs and those involved in high-risk areas such as supply chain management and human resource management.

“The minister continues to closely monitor progress on the lifestyle audits and will not be deterred from implementing this government policy. The secondment agreement with the SIU ends at the end of September, and the minister is hopeful that all those who have been required to subject themselves to this process will do so by the end date. Failure to do so will result in an SIU finding that deems them as high-risk individuals, and [they] could be subjected to an investigation.”

Vangqa said the minister was talking to Mweli’s lawyers over his refusal to be audited.

“The minister continues to engage the DG to comply with government policy and to subject himself to the lifestyle audits. While this is a subject of discussion between the minister and the DG’s personal lawyers, she has implored him to abide by government policy.

“The DG by virtue of his position handles billions of rands of public procurement, and as such he must be beyond reproach; refusal to subject himself to a lifestyle audit leaves uncomfortable questions and poses an intolerable risk to public funds.”

Mweli said he was willing to undergo a lifestyle audit but had raised “pertinent” issues with those who want him to undergo the process.

“Lifestyle audits have been conducted in the department for years but are not made public due to policy and legal requirements,” he said.

“They must be conducted in line with the March 2021 guidelines for implementing lifestyle audits in the public service.

“The process must uphold the highest level of confidentiality, fairness, independence, due care and professionalism.

“The disclosure of confidential information to the media is viewed as a breach of these principles and basic ethical standards.

“I decline to discuss employees’ lifestyle audits publicly and maintain that any information should only be shared for lawful law-enforcement purposes.

“Whoever brought this to your attention is in breach of the policy and ethics of the public service and the constitution of our country.

“I am willing to undergo [a] lifestyle audit, as I have done with top-secret vetting, which involved even polygraph tests, provided that [it] is done lawfully as explained above.

“⁠I have raised pertinent questions and issues with those who wanted me to undergo this; I am still waiting for their answers."

The Presidency, which is the appointing authority for DGs, had not responded to requests for comment at the time of publication.

However, the ANC moved to throw its weight behind Mweli.

In a statement on Friday night, the ANC said there was growing “instability” at the DBE since the appointment of Gwarube.

ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu said the tensions between Mweli and Gwarube had been the subject of discussions at meetings of their sub-committee on health & education this week.

“The ANC expresses deep concern over escalating instability within the department of basic education since the appointment of minister Siviwe Gwarube in 2024,” she said. “The ANC condemns political interference in administrative processes, disregard for established governance frameworks, and actions that threaten labour peace and preparations for the 2027 academic year.”

Bhengu also slammed the DA’s call for the president to take action against Mweli.

DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis made that call earlier in the week.

“The president must either act himself or give minister Gwarube the authority she needs to hold the DG accountable, including the power to suspend him if the circumstances warrant it,” Hill-Lewis said.

“Minister Gwarube is doing exactly what South Africans should expect from a responsible minister: confronting serious governance and procurement concerns, protecting public money, and making sure that millions of children still have textbooks they need when schools open in 2027.”