Why so few applicants for your job?

I'd say it's because it's a hot seat where you're likely to make enemies rather than friends.

So it reflects a perception that the job is politically sensitive?

Exactly. People want a life that is stress-free, and this one is not.

Has your closeness to the ANC made your job more difficult than if you'd had no relationship with it?

Not really. My training as a lawyer helped. I did not feel beholden or that this put extra pressures on me. Of course you make findings against people you've known well, but the criterion is clear. If something is wrong it is wrong.

Is there also a feeling that the job doesn't carry enough weight?

That it's a seven-year term is a problem. If you're 50, say, then when you're 57 you're going to be looking for a job. It's a fixed-term job. Thereafter, thank you, you can go.

After damning the then Health Minister Nkosazana Zuma in your Sarafina II report why didn't you recommend action against her?

It didn't damn her. The person involved in giving that (R14.2-million) contract to [Mbongeni] Ngema was the chief director.

But you found she had lied to the public?

Yes, she had given an incorrect statement, for instance, when she said: "It's okay, you can carry on because it's EU money and so you don't have to comply with the procedures for tendering."

When a minister lies shouldn't action be taken?

Because it was funding from outside, the way it should have been handled by government wasn't so clear. When the department took items which had been clearly set out for this purpose in the contract and they used it for other purposes - it seemed to me they didn't understand what they had to do. It was a question of interpretation. You could put it as lying, but I thought it was misunderstanding.

Either way, she screwed up and was then made foreign minister. Were you surprised?

I think there are many surprises when it comes to government appointments. Surprise is part for the course at this level.

Did the government take your role seriously?

Initially, and this came out of the paucity of resources accorded - we are nearing 200 staff now but started with eight - I almost thought government didn't. With time I've come to believe it does take us seriously.

After you found Penuell Maduna had "knowingly" misled the public, he was made justice minister. Wasn't that a snub?

I didn't take it as a snub. What you have here is something deeper, in the sense that you have a minister who clearly belongs to the majority party . . . it's a comment about the depth of the democratic ethos within the country in terms of "is Parliament strong enough to take action against its members?" That's another question, it's not about me. Ndaweni Mahlangu (Mpumalanga premier who said it was okay to lie) is another example. I said this needed to be discussed in Parliament. They exonerated him, but they did put it on the order paper. I can recommend someone be censured, but if they decide not to - they are the Parliament. If I had power to instruct, and they didn't carry out my instruction, that would be a snub.

How seriously does government take you if it doesn't follow your recommendations?

We're talking about high-profile cases which are more on the ethical/moral side. You've got to look at the majority of cases we do, which have practical results on people, and here more than 90% of our recommendations have been implemented.

Is the level of corruption in the public service still cause for concern?

Yes.

With acknowledgements to Sunday Times.