Rivals circle ‘dying horse’ Lesufi’s premier role
● Has Panyaza Lesufi done enough to keep his job after May 29?
Rival parties eyeing control of Gauteng — and with it the post of premier — say Lesufi is clutching at straws with his job-creation initiatives, dismissing them as gimmicks to deceive voters a few weeks before the elections.
Those gunning for Lesufi’s job include DA Gauteng leader Solly Msimanga, the EFF’s Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, Funzi Ngobeni of ActionSA and Patriotic Alliance deputy president Kenny Kunene.
Lesufi’s popularity has increased since he promised to create 500,000 jobs through the Nasi iSpani programme, but Msimanga criticised the programme as “a desperate grasp for air” aimed at gullible voters.
“He is going around promising 500,000 jobs with an R8,000 stipend, which translates to a couple of billion [rand]. Where is the money going to be coming from? These are all pipe dreams that he’s coming up with in a desperate attempt to hold onto power by hook or [by] crook.”
Ngobeni said Nasi iSpani was typical of the ANC. “Prior to elections, they introduce a number of projects using state resources to try and turn their bleak situation around. It is the last kick of a dying horse.”
Kunene called Lesufi a failure. “Some of these beneficiaries were initially paid in grocery store vouchers, which meant he had people working for a food parcel. He has spent more money on uniforms than their remuneration.
“It’s what the ANC does all the time. Towards elections they exploit the desperation of our people and they use it against them. Many of them will be out of jobs after elections, he has failed as a temporary premier.”
Rise Mzansi’s national chair Vuyiswa Ramokgopa, the party’s premier candidate, told Sunday Times that it was “evil” to take advantage of people who are vulnerable and destitute. “In my entire working career of 20 years, I’ve never heard of jobs being handed out at a stadium. The sheer showmanship of it all is so horrid.”
Lesufi’s introduction of “crime wardens” to safeguard communities in the province also drew criticism. DA leader John Steenhuisen once accused Lesufi of taking “untrained cadres out of shebeens with ill-fitting Pep Stores uniforms and unleashing them into communities with weapons”.
The premier’s crime wardens, popularly referred to as “amaPanyaza”, have come under scrutiny regarding their legal standing, what they can and cannot do by law, their level of training and how effective they are.
Build One South Africa leader Mmusi Maimane said: “The introduction of crime wardens is not sustainable. It is part of an intervention, but there are other mechanisms. There are currently more private security than there are policemen — imagine if we could ‘Uberise’ crime response, and have the nearest officer attend to crisis?
“A crime-fighting strategy relies on effective intelligence, capacitation of the police station, strengthening their vehicles, infrastructure and ensuring they can fight crime.”
At Nasrec yesterday, Lesufi held a briefing about the ambitious target of creating half-amillion jobs.
“We as government must find mechanisms and systems of absorbing [the unemployed] ... I’m proud that today we are not speaking of 100,000, but of taking almost 500,000 unemployed people out of poverty and placing them on the path of development.
“The numbers are stubborn, they are remaining firm. We have so many other programmes like training to be civic educators, cleaners, wardens, but the numbers aren’t moving. And we must remember they are not just numbers, they are human beings,” Lesufi said.
He vowed that Gauteng would be the first province to do away with the R350 social distress grant.
“We are going to tell our president, thank you so much for your R350 grant. Mayibuyele kuwe [It must return to you].
“We are taking R400,000 from that grant and we are giving a better life for the next 1236 months. That’s the commitment we are putting up today.”