Tomorrow, Monday, 24 February 2025, Premier Panyaza Lesufi will take to the podium to deliver the State of the Province Address (SOPA). He will attempt to paint a picture of progress and success, but what he won’t tell you is the full story—the failures, the mismanagement, and the broken promises that continue to plague Gauteng.
This won’t be the first time. Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s 2024 State of the Province Address was filled with bold commitments, yet many remain unfulfilled, exposing a government failing to deliver on its promises:
1. On Education:
- Bursary Expansion: The Gauteng bursary scheme is mired in corruption allegations, with funds misdirected and whistleblowers intimidated. Payments to legitimate beneficiaries have been delayed since April 2024.
- School Construction: Despite R1.5 billion allocated, most of the 18 promised schools remain unfinished due to budget shortfalls, mismanagement, and contractor failures.
- School Nutrition: Budget cuts to school feeding schemes threaten thousands of learners who rely on these meals, worsening food insecurity.
- Digital Learning: No evidence of promised digital learning tools or AI implementation in Gauteng schools.
2. On Economic Development:
- Special Economic Zones (SEZs): SEZ expansion is ongoing but at varying stages, with significant delays in full implementation across Gauteng.
- Township Economy: R2.2 billion in unspent funds exposes inefficiencies, with limited evidence of real impact for township businesses.
- Nasi Ispani Jobs Program: While 90,000 jobs were promised, the program has been marred by payment delays, contract instability, and concerns that it was more of an election ploy than a sustainable job creation initiative.
3. On Safety & Security:
- Community Safety Budget: Instead of the promised R2.7 billion, only R2.3 billion was allocated, raising concerns amid rising crime rates.
- Crime Prevention Wardens: 12,000 wardens deployed, yet their effectiveness is questioned due to lack of policing powers and reports of misconduct.
- CCTV Surveillance: Over 7,000 cameras installed, but there’s limited proof they have reduced crime.
- Drones for Policing: Of the 33 drones procured for R10.8 million, only one is operational due to bureaucratic delays and mismanagement.
4. On Municipal Governance:
- Road Upgrades: No evidence that the promised 120 roads have been upgraded.
- Township Broadband: Despite a R2.7 billion investment, widespread township connectivity remains unconfirmed.
- Municipal Interventions: Repeated provincial takeovers of failing municipalities, like Emfuleni, have failed to improve service delivery.
- Water & Sanitation: No meaningful intervention in Gauteng’s water crisis—ongoing shortages, mismanagement, and crumbling infrastructure persist.
Come 2025, and Premier Lesufi’s government continues to overpromise and underdeliver, leaving millions of Gauteng residents frustrated and without the services they were promised.
5. Pick n Pay Mini Market Owners: A Crisis of His Own Making
Premier Lesufi will boast about how his government has resolved the issues faced by former Pick n Pay Mini Market Owners, who were victims of reckless lending and unscrupulous business practices. What he won’t say is that it was his own administration that created the problem in the first place. It took Build One South Africa (BOSA) naming and shaming his government to force them into action.
6. Township Economy: A Policy in Tatters
Lesufi will speak about empowering local manufacturers, establishing distribution centers, and uplifting spaza shops. But he will gloss over the disastrous implementation of the Township Economic Development Act—an act that remains without regulations and is already under review, just three years in. He will not admit that Township Economic Revitalization (TER) spending is currently 32% below its 40% target for the quarter, nor will he acknowledge that his government’s explanation of poor tender responses is undermined by the onboarding of Family Tree Holdings as an implementing agent to assist SMMEs.
7. Broadband Connectivity: Promises Without Delivery
Lesufi will announce that broadband is expanding into townships. Yet, if you scrutinize the numbers, the reality is different. Out of the ten targets set by the Gauteng Department of Economic Development for the 2024/25 financial year, only seven were achieved. The expansion of broadband to townships was not one of them. The department has blamed strategic partners for redirecting investment, but the failure ultimately rests with this administration’s inability to create an environment conducive to sustainable investment.
8. Electricity Crisis: Load Reduction Persists
He will speak of strides made to improve electricity supply, touting his government’s willingness to step into an arena beyond their competence. However, he won’t mention that communities continue to suffer from relentless load reduction, leaving residents and businesses in the dark.
9. State-Owned Enterprises: A New Vehicle for Corruption
Expect grand promises of a state bank and a pharmaceutical company that will “change the look and feel of Gauteng townships.” But the reality is that these ventures are simply new channels for siphoning taxpayer money, destroying economic stability, and further entrenching corruption.
10. Bursary Scheme: A Breeding Ground for Fraud
Lesufi will highlight the expansion of bursaries for top-performing no-fee school learners. What he won’t reveal is the fraud and corruption allegations that have emerged within the Gauteng City Region Academy (GCRA) bursary scheme, depriving deserving students of opportunities.
11. Infrastructure Deficits: Schools Left to Rot
He will tout investment in infrastructure, conveniently ignoring the R1.1 billion deficit for incomplete projects. Schools remain unfinished, dilapidated, and vandalized, while so-called “schools of specialization” are left to fend for themselves, scrambling for funding to sustain government-imposed programs.
12. Municipal Dysfunction: Failing Basic Services
Lesufi will champion cooperative governance while neglecting to mention the dire state of municipalities: Tshwane struggles to provide clean drinking water, potholes cover Johannesburg’s streets, and sewage flows freely through Emfuleni Municipality.
13. The Truth Lies in the Unspoken
Come 18h00 on Monday, 24 February 2025, Premier Lesufi will deliver the State of the Province Address. He will present an illusion of success. But the true state of Gauteng is found in what he chooses to leave out—the failures, the mismanagement, and the lives affected by his administration’s incompetence.
Media Statement by
Ayanda Allie MPL: BOSA Member in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature
Sunday 23 February 2025
Media Enquiries:
Roger Solomons – BOSA Acting Spokesperson – 072 299 3551