By Thapelo Molefe
Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi has unveiled a major overhaul of the provincial government, promising tighter controls, cleaner governance and urgent action on youth unemployment.
Delivering his second budget vote speech of the 7th Administration on Thursday, Lesufi said the province could no longer tolerate administrative failures, corruption or stagnant service delivery.
Standing before the Gauteng provincial legislature, Lesufi declared a reset in government operations after receiving 49 damning forensic reports, most of which were commissioned before his term began.
He said the reports exposed billions in underspending, questionable payments and civil servants failing lifestyle audits.
“In the last few months, we witnessed displeasing acts of under expenditures to the tune of R1.8 billion, members failing lifestyle audits, underperformance by some departments and damning forensic reports,” the premier said.
“We have now taken a firm decision to reset the administration of the provincial government.”
As part of that reset, Lesufi announced sweeping changes to the leadership of government departments, with heads appointed in various departments including in education, social development, environment and community safety.
“Because of these reports, and recommendations coming from the Gauteng Ethics Advisory Council, today we are announcing changes of Heads of Departments,” he said.
They include Albert Chane for education, Rufus Mmutlanawho was moved from education to infrastructure, Phumla Sekhoyane, who moved from the premier’s office to social development, and Masabatha Mutllaneng, was moved from infrastructure to e-government.
Ncumisa Myani stays at Treasury as does Darion Barclay at co-operative governance.
He also confirmed that the community safety would now fall directly under his office to strengthen crime prevention.
“I stand before you today proud to announce that the department of community safety has been incorporated into the portfolio of the premier to demonstrate our intensive and decisive approach to crime prevention in the province,” Lesufi said.
The premier said these changes formed part of a wider reorganisation of government following the 2024 elections.
Portfolios like agriculture and environment have been split and state agencies such as the Gauteng Infrastructure Financing Agency and the Gauteng City Region Academy have been relocated to improve efficiency and coordination.
“All the regulatory processes have been approved and budget allocated into two standalone departments,” he added.
While restructuring the government, Lesufi also stressed the urgent need to confront unemployment, particularly among the youth.
Gauteng’s youth unemployment rate reached 46.1% in the first quarter of this year, according to Stats SA.
In response, the province’s flagship jobs initiative, Nasi Ispani, is being redesigned to deliver more practical and hands-on training.
Using 113 technical schools and eight TVET colleges, young people will be taught skills in plumbing, welding, painting and landscaping.
“Participants in this repositioned Nasi iSpani programme will not just be job beneficiaries, they will be our own timber of artisans. They will be Gauteng’s new workforce, restoring damaged infrastructure in schools, clinics, roads and parks,” Lesufi said.
“What’s broken in Gauteng isn’t just the infrastructure, it’s the pipeline of people to fix it. Every damaged ceiling, blocked drain, or faulty streetlight is a missed job opportunity.”
The premier said the technical and vocational skills curriculum would focus on high-demand trades with potential for rapid employment or self-employment.
“To this end, R50 million has been set aside for project initiation, recruitment, training, curriculum development as well as other operational costs associated with an initiative of this magnitude,” he said.
Lesufi also addressed the province’s efforts to bring justice to the victims of the Life Esidimeni tragedy. He confirmed that 486 of 603 verified claims have qualified for compensation, with R538 million already paid out to affected families.
A permanent monument would be built at Constitution Hill in memory of the lives lost.
“We are hard at work to ensure that we put this tragic history behind us and that justice is done for the victims and their families,” he said.
In another high-profile matter, Lesufi said the long-awaited report from the Khampepe Commission into the 2023 Usindiso building fire, which killed 76 people, had been submitted to his office.
It would released to the public next week following consultations with the City of Joburg.
“I want to take this opportunity to thank the commissioners, Judge Khampepe and Ms Tilly Mabena, for the outstanding work they executed,” he added.
To strengthen clean governance, the premier announced that the Gauteng Ethics Advisory Council (GEAC) would introduce a compulsory Integrity Pact for businesses contracting with the province.
This comes in response to a rise in unethical conduct and procurement-related complaints.
“Procurement of goods and services remains a high-risk area prone to allegations of corruption. The Integrity Pact should make it easier for the GPG to review and terminate the contractual obligations with service providers that breach it, with minimal risk of litigation,” Lesufi said.
“We are continuing with our commitment for a transparent public administration. We have recently published the finalised forensic investigation reports to allow citizens to monitor progress in dealing with corruption.”
Looking beyond South Africa, Lesufi spoke about the recent signing of a landmark agreement between Gauteng and China’s Hunan Province. The deal focuses on trade, infrastructure, rail development, agriculture exports and crime prevention.
In closing, Lesufi thanked all parties in the provincial legislature who supported the budget, saying political unity was key to achieving development goals.
“All of us face an urgent choice to implement decisive governance, economic and infrastructure reforms to drive inclusive growth,” he noted.
“It will take the efforts of all of us to realise this strategic vision which Madiba epitomised with such acclaim.”
He added that the 2025/26 budget was not just about spending, but about restoring faith in government and building a province that works for all.
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