By Palesa Nguqu
The Gauteng Growth and Development Agency (GGDA) has 43 acting staff members across senior and junior posts, raising concerns over leadership stability, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Tuesday.
In a written reply to questions in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, Economic Development MEC Lebogang Maile confirmed the figures, which include acting chief executives, chief financial officers, department managers and payroll officers.
The DA said the vacancies showed Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s administration was failing to take service delivery seriously at a time when Gauteng’s unemployment rate stood at 33.8%.
The GGDA, the implementation arm of the provincial Department of Economic Development, plays a key role in promoting investment, managing development zones and running entities such as the Automotive Industry Development Centre (AIDC) and the Innovation Hub.
According to Maile, the AIDC had 12 acting positions, Constitution Hill had two, the Gauteng Development Zone had three, the GGDA itself had 14, and the Innovation Hub Management Company had 12.
The DA said it would raise the matter in the Portfolio Committee on Economic Development and press for clarity on when the acting appointments would be replaced with permanent staff.
Mike Moriarty, the DA’s spokesperson on economic development, said a DA-led provincial government would fill all vacancies within 90 days.
“The other thing we are going to do is to take up the matter with the public service commission which has an interest in things like making appointments … and we will use their muscle to make sure that these things are addressed,” Moriarty said.
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