Democratic Alliance (DA) Gauteng leader Solly Msimanga on Thursday accused the African National Congress-led government of failing Gauteng residents, promising to rescue the province by acting against criminality.

Delivering his own State of the Province Address (SoPA), he pointed to a lack of accountability on as yet unpublished forensic reports and lifestyle audits, accusing Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi of empty promises.

Lesufi will deliver the official SoPA on Monday.

Msimanga said the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry had once again revealed that corruption was still festering and that Gauteng was a “petri dish of opportunities” for corrupt officials.

“This must end now! The endless promises made by the current Premier of this province have come to naught, as we still have not seen any lifestyle audits being released on the current executive,” he stated.

He noted that a stopgap measure was put in place to remove Heads of Departments (HoDs) who did not pass the lifestyle audits and that only a portion of the 177 forensic investigation reports had been released and were heavily redacted.

“…what has come to light is the fact that corruption at the Tembisa Hospital is widespread, and no one has been held to account to date.

“In addition, Premier Lesufi denied our request and subsequent appeal to release the 177 forensic investigation reports. This is a blatant attempt to protect corrupt politicians and officials who are implicated in these reports,” he said.

Msimanga announced that the DA had decided that where forensic investigative reports recommended that criminal action be taken and where none had been, the party would take action.

Last year, the DA opened a criminal case against former HoD for the Gauteng Department of Roads and Logistics Ronald Swartz, regarding the misuse of the bus subsidy funds, which resulted in money being wasted because the proper authorisation procedures were not followed.

Msimanga said the DA was actively following the case and would continue to do so until it was concluded.

“While the police are investigating the charges against the former HoD, Lesufi’s government is stonewalling us and hiding behind the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI). They refuse to release the full unredacted PricewaterhouseCoopers report, citing the POPI Act. While we do believe that where needed officials identities should be protected, we cannot support protecting corrupt officials,” he said.

DA SUGGESTIONS

In its own plan to fix the province, the DA suggested that all government officials, including the Premier and MECs, sign a performance agreement to be made public, that set out strict guidelines on how and when targets needed to be met.

“This will not be a tick-box exercise. We will not do what the current Premier has done with the three suspended officials – move them to other departments where we think they will do no harm,” Msimanga said.

The DA suggests that disciplinary action against officials take place within 90 days.

“There will no longer be long periods of suspension at the dime of the taxpayer. Corruption in this province and the rise in crime are among the major deterrents to private investors,” he added.

Msimanga pointed to failing hospitals, a rising unemployment rate, while criticising government for cable theft and water cuts.

Msimanga promised that the DA would have an infrastructure master plan that would be implemented across all municipalities and provincial government departments where needed.

This, he said would mean that the party would be working with the private sector to establish public-private partnerships to accelerate the delivery of critical infrastructure projects in the province.

“Our track record in Midvaal speaks for itself; this municipality has received 11 consecutive clean audits. This has encouraged the private sector to invest in the local economy of Midvaal, which translates into more job opportunities,” he added.