DA does not back Panyaza Lesufi as Gauteng Education MEC

The Citizen article, 26 November 2019, "DA defends under-fire Gauteng education MEC Lesufi”, could not be further from the truth as my comments were taken out of context.

It is important to note that when speaking of irregular expenditure, it does not automatically imply that this is tantamount to corruption. And this is the point I made in my interview.

An example of irregular expenditure would be when a school needs extra supplies, such as desks and chairs that are not budgeted for but are purchased regardless of budget.

This purchase would defy Treasury Regulations and be classified as irregular expenditure, but it does not amount to corruption at face value unless an investigation proves that corruption was involved in the irregular expenditure

Therefore, the DA is not an applicant in Afriforum’s legal action against the MEC for this irregular expenditure.

As elected Members of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, we are mandated by voters to scrutinize the spend of public money and we will use the necessary legislative mechanisms at our disposal to do so.

However, MEC Lesufi is by no means a saint; under his watch:

Many schools have infrastructure which is in a dilapidated state and is in dire need of maintenance. There is also a shortage of classrooms, which is leading to overcrowding;

The MEC has failed to eradicate asbestos schools in the province. He is constantly promising to replace asbestos schools with brick and mortar schools but to date this has not yet materialised;

The safety of learners and the assets of our schools has been under threat for a while now, yet the MEC fails to put adequate safety and security measures in place;

Our schools have turned into war zones with learners taking weapons to schools;

In the 2018/2019 financial year the department failed to spend nearly R1 billion. In the previous year the department also failed to spend R1 billion and in both instances the money was sent back to Treasury.

It is high time MEC Lesufi is shown the door as it is clear now more than ever that he incapable of leading this department. He lacks the political will needed to implement the changes that he has been talking about for the last six years.

The DA will approach Gauteng Premier David Makhura through the correct legislative measures available to ensure that he releases MEC Lesufi from his duties as a matter of urgency.

Statement issued by Khume Ramulifho MPL - DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Education, 28 November 2019