Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi and his delegation were given a public scolding in parliament this week, as Portfolio Committee on Cogta chairperson Zweli Mkhize warned of weak provincial leadership presence.
This as Lesufi requested to leave amid committee proceeding, saying he had to attend to funeral arrangements of the former deputy speaker of Gauteng, Uhuru Moiloa.
“With due respect chair, I would really apologise if they had not done that. My office sent a communique about my limitation of time this morning, not to disrespect because of I have to be outside of this province.
Premier had to attend funeral
“We lost the former deputy speaker of this province and we need to deal with funeral arrangements. My apologies if they have not communicated that chair,” said Lesufi.
Mkhize approved that he may leave but scolded the leadership for showing poor commitment to the joint committee compared to other provinces.
“Let me just put one point premier, I do understand your sense of apologies and the MEC. We are just concerned about the level of participation of the province. We don’t have, except one, was only (sic) one member of the legislature who I think might still be here. I just get a note now that the speaker is also unable to join us,” said Mkhize.
He also emphasised that Scopa had one representative and that the provincial committee on Cogta was not well represented. City of Johannesburg also announced that mayor Dada Morero would not be present as he is on an international trip.
Gauteng and its municipalities reined in
“In general, we have not had this kind of reception in other provinces. We are more concerned about the province and its municipalities,” he said.
The City of Johannesburg has come under fire for allegedly failing to act firmly on financial misconduct. This with MPs saying the municipality is not holding officials accountable despite repeated warnings from the Auditor-General.
City officials were pressed on why consequence management remained a concern for the past two years.
Finance MMC Loyiso Masuku told the committee that progress had been made since the disciplinary board was re-established after the city returned to administration.
“The council approved the disciplinary board in 2024 after it was re-established when we came back into administration. The functionality of the disciplinary board has improved immensely in the past 18 months.
“We have already, through council, taken 18 matters for investigation on alleged acts of misconduct. Out of those 18 matters, six are in full investigation worth R1-billion. [And] 12 of the matters worth R2.2-billion are also at investigation stage.
Acting mayor gives details on progress
“One of the recommendations we also made to the section 79 committee in council two weeks ago was the frequency of the disciplinary board. Because at the moment it sits quarterly. And one of the recommendations … was that the frequency should be monthly. So that we actually expedite the cases of financial misconduct,” said Masuku.
City COO Tshepo Magola added that several high-profile cases had already gone through the board.
These are in connection with the MTN contract, Protea Glen fire station construction, Sars, payments of fire engines, and recovery of R200-million from SAP.
Magola noted that in some cases senior officials had been disciplined or dismissed. While other cases were still being reopened under financial misconduct rules.
“In relation to consequence management, two senior managers were taken for discipline through the labour relation process. And as the disciplinary board, we were concerned that one of the employees was dismissed. Based on the dismissal of the senior manager, the other employee then lodged a dispute. The bargaining council then ordered reinstatement.
Financial misconduct perspective
“However, as the board, we are now relooking on the matter from a financial misconduct perspective. Because monies were paid in advance. And we think we would then re-charge the employees based on the financial misconduct regulations,” said Magola.
He added that in the MTN case, one manager was dismissed but three have not been disciplined. This was recommended, and council approved proceeding with the issue.
On the construction of the Protea Glen fire station, where the city had to pay a R2.5-million fine to the province, Magola confirmed the responsible director was dismissed. And the city was pursuing recovery of money from a consulting firm through the courts.
“The sixth one was the recovery of R200-million from SAP, which came from the project of ICT that came as a profile of investigations we were dealing with,” Magola said. He added that council had also recently approved 13 new cases for investigation.
The committee also turned its attention to the controversial repairs of Lilian Ngoyi Street, formerly Bree Street. An underground gas explosion left a deep scar in Johannesburg’s CBD.
MK Party MP David Skhosana questioned why the city had decided to use paving blocks instead of tar to resurface the road.
Lilian Ngoyi street repairs
Acting mayor and MMC for human settlements, Mlungisi Mabaso, said the city was forced to change contractors mid-project. It opted for paving for long-term sustainability.
He indicated that the City cancelled the first contractor due to slow pace and poor performance.
“The work commenced with the civil works, replacing all the pipes, and the cables underneath. And we had to extend the scope of work as well to incorporate certain amenities like your trading spaces. But there is also a new infrastructure that has been installed. Your traffic signals, new ventilation shafts, and gas venting system.
“The use of the paving was deliberately used just for sustainability. Because we know that paving is more sustainable than the taring. This considering the amount of rain that we have experienced in Johannesburg.
“Also to improve on our stormwater system but also, Bree Street is one of the busiest streets within the CBD. So [with] the volume of motorists there, we felt it’s prudent to utilise the material that is sustainable, material that will be strong. One that will be able to contain the volume of traffic that the street endures on a daily basis,” said Mabaso.
