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The DA’s 2025 Scorecard once again shows that Premier Lesufi’s minority government is failing residents across almost every core service area. The scores across several departments reflect widespread collapse in governance, weak financial controls, and chronic underperformance.

Mismanagement, stalled programmes, and worsening service delivery characterise departments such as Community Safety, Health, Human Settlements and Social Development. The residents of Gauteng are not being well served by this administration.

Furthermore, it has been clear that with Premier Lesufi at the helm, Ethical leadership is largely absent. There has been repeated irregular expenditure, weak consequence management, and unlawful initiatives like the Amapanyaza programme. Lesufi has ignored warnings and made senior appointments despite clear integrity risks. Even where basic administration functions, strategic leadership and impact remain profoundly lacking.

Office of the Premier - Panyaza Lesufi

Under his stewardship, service delivery has deteriorated. Overpromising about billions of rands “secured” for infrastructure development, in reality, there is very little, if anything, in terms of visible positive change in infrastructure development. The Premier has failed to take bold steps against corruption, only reacting when issues are publicly exposed, despite occurring under his watch.

His refusal to make public over 177 forensic investigation reports demonstrates his lack of decisive action against corruption in government. NGO’s have suffered under Lesufi’s watch, with many NGO’s helping vulnerable people left stranded when millions of rands in grant funding were redirected to the illegal, unauthorised Gauteng crime wardens’ programme.

Despite warnings about certain senior appointments, the Premier went forward in appointing the likes of Arnold Malotana as HOD for the Department of Health. Highly implicated before his appointment, Malotana is now suspended with full pay. Under Malotana’s watch, R250 million worth of cancer treatment was not spent, while many patients have since died.

Lesufi’s pet project of AmaPanyaza was found to have been established and deployed irregularly and beyond the powers of the provincial government. All expenditure related to the crime prevention wardens (CPWs) was deemed irregular and unlawful. Instead of prudently using public funds to establish a lawful crime-fighting unit, Lesufi put thousands of desperate people at risk and exposed the provincial government to legal liability.

Score: 3/10

Provincial Legislature - Morakane Mosupyoe 

The Speaker receives a fair rating. On balance, she is better than her predecessor at ensuring that the Legislature carries out its mandate to hold the Executive accountable, irrespective of whether the Speaker happens to be from the same party as the ruling Executive. We have seen a preparedness to rule against ANC disruptors, unlike the past, where her predecessor was predisposed to protect ANC members and, more specifically, the Premier and his cabinet.

The discussions in the Rules Committee and, more especially, the workshop to amend the Rules were very encouraging because the approach taken by the Speaker demonstrated a willingness to be firm against the Executive’s practice of avoiding accountability, and more specifically, dodging questions.

However, the Speaker has been unable to ensure that all questions get answered. There still exist many outstanding questions or outstanding replies. She also failed in assessing whether to allow a motion of censure against the MEC for Health.

Moreover, the Rules Committee fails to sit, and the outcome of the Rules Amendments Workshop has yet to be served before the committee and to be adopted by the House. Furthermore, there has been a misapplication of rules in the House that restrict speech that holds the executive accountable. A specific instance has been with DA Member Dr Jack Bloom; communication on rampant corruption via posters has been restricted, with the live broadcast not showing the member holding the poster, depriving Gauteng residents of the full communication.

Score: 5/10

Agriculture and Rural Development - Vuyiswa Ramakgopa

The MEC has led the department to do some good work in supporting micro agro-processors and women producers; however, there is continued underperformance in long-term food security and youth inclusion. The weakness in strategic performance has been exposed in the stalling of infrastructure projects, the failure to meet land rehabilitation targets, and a collapse to 0% in youth agricultural access.

Persistent irregular expenditure, underspending of grants and lack of consequence management indicate a lack of governance and ethical leadership. Structural commitments on commercialisation, land access, infrastructure and agriparks remain unmet, whilst there are some service delivery benefits reaching small producers.

The department will not be able to deliver genuine agricultural reform as long as it continues to have a weak institutional capacity, which is exacerbated by critical vacancies.

Score: 5/10 

Community Safety - Panyaza Lesufi  

Premier Panyaza Lesufi has fundamentally failed in managing Community Safety. His flagship Crime Prevention Warden (AmaPanyaza) programme was established and deployed unlawfully, as confirmed by the Public Protector, exposing Gauteng to legal and constitutional risk. Financially, it was reckless, unsustainable and relied on a troubled RTMC entity flagged by the AG for overspending, mismanagement and lacking capacity to train the wardens.

This has left thousands of wardens in limbo. Strategically, Lesufi’s project has failed to reduce violent crime, with SAPS shortages ignored and wardens absent from key hotspots. Reports of brutality, inadequate training and lack of a clear mandate further eroded public trust.

Suspensions of senior officials later confirmed governance collapse, while the Premier resisted transparency and oversight throughout. Rather than providing residents with a lawful, effective safety strategy, Lesufi pursued an unsustainable political project as Gauteng remained South Africa’s crime hub.

Score: 5/10

COGTA - Jacob Mamabolo

After a promising start with a team assembled to turn municipalities around, little positive change has materialised. Gauteng municipalities continue to face severe water shortages, electricity failures and neglected service delivery, worsened by weak leadership with poor strategic direction.

Emfuleni, Mogale City, Merafong and Johannesburg struggle with governance, financial management and service delivery. Auditor-General reports show poor financial management with rising unauthorised, wasteful and fruitless expenditure. Johannesburg alone reported R4.74 billion in irregular and unauthorised expenditure in 2024/25, highlighting poor consequence management and accountability that COGTA has failed to address.

Score: 4/10

Economic Development - Lebogang Maile

Maile’s low score is not for his sneering arrogance, but because his department and its agencies have failed to meet key targets. The long-promised township economic upliftment has not materialised, and officials are rewarded for easy-to-reach targets that do not grow the economy or create jobs.

The portfolio committee agrees that economic growth and employment are what should be measured, and on this, the MEC has been an utter failure. Gauteng’s GDP growth is a paltry 0.8% against population growth of 1.33%, leaving residents poorer, with unemployment now at 40%.

He has also failed to address corruption and dysfunction in the Gauteng Liquor Board. While credited for hosting an Investment Conference, pledges are recycled, and little money flows from his interventions and what investments occur happen in spite of his actions, not because of them. His Commission of Inquiry into the GLB has also produced none of the promised reports.

Score: 2.5/10

Education - Matome Chiloane

The MEC has overseen a clear deterioration in governance, accountability, and ethical conduct in the Gauteng Department of Education. The audit outcome has worsened, with material compliance failures, weak controls, and over R1.45 billion in irregular expenditure, including serious non-compliance with procurement standards for the National School Nutrition Programme and mobile classrooms.

The Auditor-General has noted slow implementation of corrective actions and repeated irregular expenditure, a reflection of poor consequence management and ineffective oversight. Alongside the mishandling of the Pretoria High School for Girls case and ongoing corruption allegations in school-related entities, this reflects weak leadership.

MEC Chiloane has failed to ensure infrastructure projects are completed, shown no oversight to prevent delays, and irresponsibly allocated Section 21(1)(d) functions to schools without proper consultation, while reducing subsidies to Quintile 5 schools already facing budget pressure.

Score: 2/10 

eGovernment - Bonginkosi Dlamini

This score reflects effort from the MEC to sustain audit outcomes, with some pockets of improvement and engagement with long-standing administrative constraints. However, performance is still not adequate for the immense task of building a digital state.

The cumulative effect of multiyear underperformance, unresolved structural issues, infrastructure failure, lack of internal capability and the Microsoft debt crisis shows that the MEC did not provide the decisive political leadership required to reset the trajectory of the Department of eGovernment.

Score: 4/10 

Environmental Affairs - Ewan Botha 

While Ewan Botha was only appointed on 25 June 2025, he comes across as genuinely enthusiastic about the opportunity and eager to contribute. However, the MEC’s lack of experience as a public representative is a concern. While he speaks confidently about the issues facing Gauteng, there is not yet a record of delivery, policy implementation, or measurable impact under his leadership.

Mr Botha is on the ground and engaging with stakeholders; there has not really been enough time to give him a fair score based on his five months' performance. His score is based on his groundwork and statements of intent.

Score: 6/10

Treasury - Lebogang Maile 

Treasury stands out as one of the only departments that function; however, the picture is not all rosy. The MEC is to be commended for maintaining clean audits, strong internal financial controls and avoiding new irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure. However, good administration does not equal being impactful.

Treasury has over-collected provincial revenue simply because most other departments underspent, not due to superior revenue strategies. The MEC failed to appoint a debt-collection agency, missed the publishing target for the Municipal Economic Review and Outlook, and continues to have a high vacancy rate while spending heavily on consultants.

While meeting process targets, outcomes indicate that municipal finances continue sliding deeper into dysfunction. While good at the basics, the MEC has fallen short in strategic leadership, exposed by its inability to drive real reform, strengthen revenue systems and build internal capacity.

Score: 5/10

Health - Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko 

This department is plagued by poor leadership and mismanagement that directly harms patients. The Auditor-General found Gauteng to be the only provincial health department that failed all nine assessed areas, from procurement, management of revenue and expenditure, strategic planning, consequence management, transfer of funds and use of conditional grants.

These failures hurt medical staff working under adverse conditions. Shamefully, this department has been rebuked twice by the Gauteng High Court for neglecting cancer patients despite an available budget.

There is further disarray with the suspension of the HOD after failing a life audit and the continued lack of a permanent CFO since 2022. Corruption in this department extends far beyond the Tembisa hospital.

Score: 1/10

Human Settlements - Tasneem Motara

While the MEC inherited a department with entrenched failures, weak accountability and widespread incompetence, Human Settlements has continued to fail across programmes. The MEC shifts blame to the National Treasury or local authorities. She is no longer willing to engage, avoiding meetings and being defensive while systematic failures deepen.

MEC Motara has overseen failures in key areas such as the Rapid Land Release Programme, the Hostel Redevelopment Plan, the Gauteng Partner Fund, and the release of title deeds.

The existence of a turnaround strategy has failed to overcome poor management, weak oversight and minimal PPP initiatives. While admitting that the goals of the Department cannot be achieved, the MEC provides no way forward.

Score: 3/10

Infrastructure - Jacob Mamabolo

With not a single school delivered this year, the Health Department distancing itself from GDID, the absence of a credible and up-to-date GIAMA asset register, and the outrageous spending on rental office space while government-owned buildings are left to be vandalised or illegally occupied, this department under MEC Mamabolo has failed dismally.

Despite all the talk of new systems, an “A-Team” inspecting projects, and impressive-sounding recovery plans, we must judge this department on the facts before us. The official reports reflect continued delays, continued waste, and continued neglect. On that basis alone, the performance remains a dismal 3 out of 10

Score: 3/10

Roads and Transport - Kedibone Diale-Tlabela

We commend the MEC’s efforts in communication on critical matters through various social media platforms as well as her engagement with the committee, its members and the public. However, communication on the broken-down infrastructure should be faster.

Major weakness continues in the delivery of necessary infrastructure, as revealed in the persistence of non-functioning traffic lights and streetlights. While there has been improved coordination on public transport, the ongoing war between taxi and e-hailing industries has shone a spotlight on the challenges, such as a lack of regulation and integration in the public transport system.

The department is increasing expenditure on lawfare due to infrastructure, which reduces the impact of having better fiscal controls and the clean audit achievements. While recognising the visible improvements made by the MEC, there are still too many issues in critical areas such as traffic lights, potholes and taxi violence.

Score: 5/10 

Social Development - Faith Mazibuko

The MEC for Social Development’s score is due to severe underperformance, poor financial management, and failure to uphold ethical and legislative obligations. The department underspent R102.9 million in 2024/25 in food relief, dignity packs and youth programmes, which are funds meant for the most vulnerable members of society.

The Auditor-General further found non-compliance with the PFMA, over R214 million in irregular expenditure, and a lack of effective consequence management. The MEC’s record reflects poor ethical leadership, disregard for accountability, persistent failure to meet critical service delivery targets, and ultimately neglecting the constitutional duty to protect the province’s most vulnerable.

Score: 3/10

Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation - Matome Chiloane 

MEC Matome Chiloane’s performance is below expectations, as shown in the AGSA 2024/25 findings. The department met only 62% of its targets while spending 91% of its budget, a clear indication of poor value for money. The department’s audit opinion regressed from unqualified to qualified, indicating a decline in internal controls and shortcomings in oversight.

Furthermore, SACR failed to implement four of six AG recommendations. Even after revising targets, it still failed with no libraries, combi courts or community soccer fields being delivered. MEC Chiloane has repeatedly missed committee meetings, while vacancies, late supplier payments and procurement non-compliance remain unmanaged, undermining service delivery.

Score: 4/10

Issued by Solly Msimanga MPL - Leader of the Official Opposition- Gauteng