South Africa’s renowned Auditor-General (AG) Tsakani Maluleke has been appointed as external auditor for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) for the next six years.

Maluleke, the first woman AG in South Africa, was elected to the external role by Unesco committees and organs on 16 November.

"On behalf of government and the nation, I congratulate our Auditor-General on her election to a global role which as an acknowledgment of her personal capabilities and the leadership capacity and integrity that resides in South Africa’s governance institutions," President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Sunday.

Unesco is a specialised agency of the UN, whose role is to promote peace by having countries collaborate through culture, science and education. One of its founding principles says,  "Since wars begin in the minds of men and women, it is in the minds of men and women that the defences of peace must be constructed."

Maluleke’s office audits almost a thousand public institutions, including government departments. Earlier in November, it laid bare how South Africa's municipalities have lost R5.19-billion through non-compliance and suspected fraud.

She wrote in a piece carried on News24 earlier in November that "supreme audit institutions" globally are being called upon to move beyond just numbers – "to ensure their relevance and demonstrate the value they add to the lives of ordinary citizens and the institutions they audit."

"Through its audit activities, particularly those relating to the audit of performance information, the Auditor-General South Africa continues to play an important role in enabling accountability and thus promoting democratic governance in South Africa," she wrote.

"Credible performance information not only enables oversight and accountability it also empowers accounting officers and authorities to track how they are delivering against their objectives."