Panyaza Lesufi Demands Answers After the Provincial Government Spent R34 Million on Office Rentals

• Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi has initiated an investigation into the government's expenditure on renting office space
• This was after the province's MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Jacob Mamabolo, revealed that the province spends R34 million renting offices
• Lesufi enlisted the services of an independent forensic firm to discover if the amount spent was wasteful expenditure
• ActionSA's Gauteng provincial chairperson, Funzi Ngobeni, slammed the provincial government and spoke to Briefly News about the expenditure

With over seven years at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News, Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News current affairs journalist, offered insights into South African politics, national, provincial and local governance, the Government of National Unity, political parties and Parliament.

JOHANNESBURG — The Premier of Gauteng, Panyaza Lesufi, has hired a forensic firm to investigate claims of wasteful expenditure after revelations that the province spends R34 million monthly on office rentals emerged.

What did Panyaza Lesufi say about office rentals?

According to IOL, Lesufi's spokesperson Vuyo Mhaga said the investigation seeks to uncover whether the rentals are wasteful expenditure for the government. The investigation also seeks to discover possible options, which involve a public-private partnership. He added that the government has a project to revitalise Johannesburg's Central Business District.

Mhaga also said that some buildings owned by the government are heritage sites and lengthy, costly processes are needed before the renovations to the buildings are made.

Mamabolo, responding to questions in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, said that the provincial government owns 40 buildings which have been abandoned. Healso said that a lack of maintenance resulted in the dilapidation of the buildings. The Democratic Alliance slammed the Department of Infrastructure Development for wasting R34 million while the government owns buildings.

In 2024, The Minister of Public Works and Infrastucture, Dean Macpherson, revealed that the government owns 88,000 buildings across South Africa. Out of these, 338 buildings have been hijacked. He said the state had to plan what to do with the buildings, as they cannot fall into criminals' hands.

ActionSA chairperson slams provincial government

Speaking to Briefly News, ActionSA's Provincial Chairperson, Funzi Ngobeni, condemned what the party considered to be wasteful expenditure. He said that over R2.2 billion has been spent on office rentals in the past five years, and the expenditure nullified the rentals as temporary measures.

"ActionSA views this rental expenditure as grossly wasteful and unjustifiable. These are funds that could have been redirected towards frontline service delivery, fixing clinics, repairing roads, upgrading schools, or hiring more public safety personnel.

"The provincial government’s failure to maintain its buildings, only to then rent private offices at taxpayer expense, is a textbook example of poor financial governance," he said.

What does ActionSA recommend?

Ngobeni said the party proposed alternative solutions to correct the mismanagement of public funds. It called for the provincial government to audit all provincially-owned properties to determine which buildings can be reoccupied or repurposed, renovate and reintegrate abandoned buildings into government operations, and leverage public-private partnerships (PPPs) to refurbish and optimise state assets while also generating revenue.

"Had this been done sooner, Gauteng would not be bleeding millions every year on rent," he said.

What did netizens say?

South Africans commenting on IOL's Facebook page shared their opinions.

Nathi Dee Sibiya said:

"Maybe issues like these should be investigated by the national government. I know they say it is an independent forensic company, but surely they cannot be fully independent if they are hired and paid by the same entity that they are investigating."

Mulimisi Raswiswi said:

"So the premier hears of the R34 million monthly rentals for the first time like the rest of us? The premier shrugged his shoulders when the news of R400 million Soweto schools' sanitation cost broke out during COVID-19."

Diamond Mabasa said:

"Nothing is justifiable about mediocre, incompetent cadre deployment."

Deon Nel said:

"As a premier, he should know these things. Who is his MEC that's supposed to report on this?"

Mannie Naidoo asked:

"Why hire an independent forensic firm? Does the government or treasury not have qualified chartered accountants to perform these exercises? Again, wasted expenditure. ANC knows just how to waste and destroy."

What you need to know about Panyaza Lesufi

Panyaza Lesufi is a politician currently serving as the seventh Premier of Gauteng, a role he assumed in 2022. Before this, he held the position of Gauteng MEC for Education from 2014 to 2022, aside from a brief two-day period in May 2019 when he was appointed MEC for Finance. He also served as acting MEC for Social Development from 2019 to June 2020.

Lesufi is a long-standing member of the African National Congress (ANC), having served on its Gauteng Provincial Executive Committee since 2007. He was elected as the ANC’s Gauteng Provincial Chairperson in 2022.

During his tenure as MEC for Education, Lesufi faced criticism from opposition parties who accused him of waging a "war on Afrikaans." These accusations were linked to his policy of converting Afrikaans-medium public schools into English-medium or dual-medium institutions.

City of Joburg to move mayor's offices

In a related article, Briefly News reported that the City of Johannesburg's mayor, Dada Morero, announced that he will move his offices to the Usindiso Building. He said the move is meant to bring the executive closer to the heart of Johannesburg.

The Usindiso Building is the building that caught fire, killing 77 people. South Africans debated about his decision.

Source: Briefly News