Premier of Gauteng Panyaza Lesufi is under investigation due to claims that he withheld forensic reports that allegedly showed corruption and poor management at the Department of Social Development.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) leader in Gauteng, Solly Msimanga, addressed these grave allegations at a media briefing at the provincial assembly on Tuesday.
Msimanga has also urged the ethics committee to look into Lesufi’s behaviour.
Msimanga stated that his party will pursue all possible avenues to ensure the reports are made public, including engaging with the President and the Public Protector.
He further claimed that the reports have been withheld since 2019.
“Since 2019, the Democratic Alliance (DA) has asked for the reports of all completed forensic investigations to be made public by the Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG).
“Our pleas have fallen on deaf ears, and instead, we have been given empty promises year after year regarding the release of these reports,” he said.
According to Msimanga, they wrote to Lesufi on Friday, requesting that all completed forensic reports be made public.
Lesufi had until Monday to deliver the reports to the DA’s office.
Despite the release of the AngloGold Ashanti report, the Tembisa Hospital report, and the Driving Licence Testing Centre reports, Msimanga said there were more than 100 that needed to be released.
“Recently, it came to light that a forensic audit launched into the Gauteng Department of Social Development had revealed that the director of the Sustainable Livelihoods programme, July Maphosa, had resigned in 2018 after he was accused of fraud and soliciting bribes.
“Furthermore, the forensic audit, which began in 2018, also revealed that between 2014 and 2018, a huge portion of the annual budget for the programme went to three non-profit organisations that shared directors.
“The contents of this forensic audit have still not been made public. This department plays a critical role in uplifting the lives of Gauteng residents. However, this cannot be done if only a connected few are given tenders to deliver services,” he alleged.
In addition, a forensic investigation was meant to be undertaken into the conditions at Rahima Moosa Hospital but it still has not started.
“It is clear that when corruption occurs, there are only a connected few individuals that benefit, to the detriment of our residents,” he maintained.
Msimanga said Lesufi has not completed the lifestyle audits that he claimed he did.
“For the last two years, we have been assured that this process has been completed. These lifestyle audits are also critical to clamping down on corruption.
“Corrupt activities in the province take away valuable money from service delivery, putting the needs of our residents on the back foot. Furthermore, additional money is spent on forensic investigations, of which we are never told whether the recommendations are indeed being implemented,” he said.
He further urged Lesufi to release the reports on forensic investigations today.
Lesufi responded by saying: “Try harder! I released all the reports on the 12th December 2022, two months after I took office. We wish to know which reports exactly are we hiding, name and title of those reports.”
Politics
