Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi. Photo: Oupa Mokoena/African News Agency (ANA)
Johannesburg - New Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi has raised eyebrows for the reconfiguration of some of the departments with some claiming this will hamper service delivery.
This week, three ANC members indicated to the publication that the reconfiguration was “political suicide” heading to the 2024 general elections.
“It’s going to take some time for the merged departments to find their feet and start delivering services. What will happen in the meantime? People are going to revolt and we are going to see a lot of service delivery-related protests. This was a bad move, he should have left the departments as they were and just capacitated them,” said a party member speaking on condition of anonymity.
The members further claimed that even those in the top leadership positions in the province were allegedly unhappy with the move.
Another party member questioned the true benefits of the movements. The member said the only person who was in a significant role was MEC Human Settlements and Infrastructure Development Lebogang Maile.
“The only individual who is happy is Lebogang. We can’t shy away from the fact that he is his opponent. This is a bad move and it will seriously backfire on him and the party come elections,” said the source.
Lesufi on the announcement of his cabinet promised residents that he would change the face of townships and added that his new team was competent, beyond reproach and not attached to scandals.
His cabinet has:
A Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) member told the publication this week that the biggest gripe with the cabinet was the failure to understand and comprehend the seniority that exists.
“The majority of people are complaining about the demotion of comrades. Comrade Tasneem and Mosupyoe were effectively demoted,” said the insider.
“Again, how do you take two big departments such as housing and infrastructure and make them into one? It’s as though there is no capacity within the province and the issue of mismatch of skills.”
The insider further added that the above is a serious problem and they want to raise it with Lesufi.
Political analyst Dr Ralph Mathekga this weekend echoed the sentiments of some of the party members, saying the gazetting and reconfiguration of departments takes away time from delivering services.
“You are getting in new people that will need to settle down and removing those that know the problems. If you are service delivery orientated, this does not help their situation. While realigning and figuring who needs to be where it becomes a serious risk for service delivery,” he said.
Mathekga added that the ANC needed to move away from its culture of recalling leaders and disrupting government work after elective conferences.
“People win at conferences and there is a realignment in government. This reveals that at times, the ANC stance is not in line with what is happening on the ground,” he said.
Lesufi however stands firmly by his decisions. He indicated this week that there will always be people unhappy with decisions and that is part of life.
“We can’t satisfy everyone. It’s only three departments have been reconfigured. We have already gazetted the departments and there won’t be any delay or impact on service delivery,” he said.
Lesufi further added that the moves were inspired by his understanding of the government and having seen what was not working during the previous administration under David Makhura. He also hit out at the detractors, saying the focus should be on delivering services to the people instead of internal squabbles.
“I have been in the government for a long time and know what works and what doesn’t. This was a collective decision of the ANC and the alliance. The only people that will benefit are the people and the ANC at large. We don’t have time for gossipers that want to hide behind anonymity,” said Lesufi.
He indicated that his administration would hit the ground running and meet residents’ needs. He said his administration would focus on the improvement of townships and informal settlements.
“We will focus on the economic growth of the province. That is the reason for the configurations of the departments to ensure we can meet the targets we set out,” Lesufi said.
He also has the backing of the party in the province. Gauteng ANC spokesperson Lesego Makhubela said they have not met anyone who is not happy about the reconfiguration. He said they have met people who are saying that they were happy with the reconfiguration of all departments.
“This means strengthening service delivery. It means that the departments that have been created will fast-track service delivery and this will also address backlogs that have been in the system,” he said.