Letter to Premier, ANC chairperson to suspend Lesufi

28 January 2021

Solidarity today demanded in a letter that the Gauteng MEC for Education, Panyaza Lesufi, be dismissed. The letter is addressed to Gauteng Premier David Makhura and the ANC’s national chairperson, Minister Gwede Mantashe.

“The NEC and the president have repeatedly stated their commitment to the fight against corruption in the party, making the point that where members of the ANC may be associated with or even where there are suspicions or allegations of corruption involving an ANC member, that person should voluntarily step aside pending an investigation, or alternatively be suspended for the duration of the investigation,” Dr Dirk Hermann Solidarity chief executive said. “This gives the ANC the opportunity to now prove that we are not dealing with another Magashule and that the party will take deliberate action against members about whom there are doubts,” Hermann explained.

In the letter Solidarity also expresses its shock and dissatisfaction with the R431 274 959 million the Gauteng Department of Education had spent on the sanitation of schools. Several suppliers, who have no experience of the industry, reportedly received astronomical amounts after tenders had been awarded to them under emergency measures.

“What is of even greater concern to us is that Lesufi claims that he had no idea about these huge payments. This is totally unacceptable. An MEC is accountable for the activities of that department at all times. Therefore it only leaves two options – either he is incompetent, or he is complicit. Given the ANC’s record and the fact that we are only now learning about this, it would seem that the latter is probably the case,” Hermann said.

Solidarity is of the opinion that corruption is immediately implied when amounts of this nature are exposed in scandals. He therefore expects the government to take immediate action to institute an inquiry by the Integrity Commission. According to Solidarity, this scandal should be read in the same context as other cases of corruption associated with PPE tenders that have been obtained in the same way but from other departments during a time of disaster.

There is no confidence in the government anymore. The ANC and its cadres are constantly involved in corruption and are constantly exploiting the pandemic in an attempt to gain more power and to be able to steal more. If the government wants to prove in any way that it is serious about corruption, then it would task the Integrity Commission to investigate the matter. Lesufi should resign from his position of his own accord. If not, MrMakhura should remove him from his post. We cannot afford to have incompetent or corrupt officials heading any department, especially not education,” Hermann concluded.

To view the letter to Minister Mantashe, click here
To view the letter to Premier Makhura, click here

Issued by Morné Malan, Communication Head: Solidarity, 28 January 2021