Four years after being appointed as the first female auditor-general (AG) in South Africa, Tsakani Maluleke knows better now than before that her job leaves very little space for error. As the head of the public finance watchdog, which fights for good governance in public finance, Maluleke says knowing the challenging parts of her role and still being willing to do it has helped with the tough parts of the job.
Key to navigating the important work she does, like tabling the local government audit outcomes and revealing billions in unauthorised expenditure, is being able to differentiate between the AG and Tsakani. “There is the job and then there’s me, and to kind of create some line between the two, that’s not been the easiest thing, and I keep trying to do that. To be clear about there’s a person behind this role, and whilst there are things I cannot do or say outside, in the role, I’ve got to preserve the core of who I am, and create spaces for me to still be who I am.”
Maluleke took over from Kimi Makwetu in 2020, after working as SA’s deputy-auditor general since 2014. Her rise to the top echelons of the office of the AG may seem like an obvious path given her role as Makwetu’s deputy, but Maluleke says 15 years ago she would have told you it was “completely off the radar.”
“If you’d asked me 15 years ago, if I had this role, my answer would have been no. It was completely off the radar. But I realise now that almost every step I took and the choices I made, sometimes good, sometimes bad, but they all kind of led me to this point.”
And so what is Maluleke’s purpose? The mom of two says she has been lucky to have a career that resonated with her core values: adding value to society. “I just think there’s a bigger purpose for why we are on this planet. Yes, being materially comfortable is important and I’m not making light of that…but being able to bring some change in somebody’s existence or their future…”
The key to not letting the bad days get to her is remembering what her goals are. “My purpose is much bigger than the disappointment of trouble at work, the disappointment and the angst that comes with the daily, monthly and annual targets that are not being met, the anxiety of a failing task, right? I remind myself that what I’m here for, what I’m on this planet for, I’ve yet to see.”
AG at the office, but Tsakani to her friends and mom to her kids, Maluleke credits her high school group of friends and her siblings for reminding her who she is. “I find even with my kids, I kind of have to remember that I am not in control and that’s hard.”
After a whirlwind 2024 in SA and across the world, geopolitics looks set for a rollercoaster 2025. For Maluleke though, she’s hoping for a slower year. Well, not when it comes to running at least. This year she wanted to run a few half-marathons but managed “only” one, she says. In 2025 she hopes to move that number to two, at least.
Maluleke is a speaker at the Vastly Sage Brunch with Amanda Dambuza in partnership with YourLuxury Africa. The theme of the brunch is ‘the dream life is now’ and for the AG, the dream is ‘to keep finding more purpose and stepping into it.’
