[Image: Grok]
As a horrified citizen just trying to keep up with my taxes, potholes, and power cuts, I’m not sure whether to laugh, cry, or start baking “Welcome Back” cupcakes for the fraudsters who only got some of our money back.
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi, with the calm of someone announcing the weather, revealed that the provincial government flushed more than R3.4 million down the corruption toilet thanks to years of mismanagement, News24 reports. But hey, no need to panic! Apparently, “60% of this was later recovered.” Well, pop the champagne, right?
On Wednesday, Lesufi dropped 47 finalised forensic reports stretching all the way back to 2016 – before he was premier, mind you – looking into fraud, corruption, maladministration, and plain ol’ incompetence in various departments. If you’re wondering if this is a sequel to a previous drama, you’re right. These reports are tied to ongoing scandals like Anglo Ashanti, Tembisa Hospital, and those delightful driving licence testing centres.
Lesufi rattled off some damage control numbers: “R3,448,215.07 was lost due to financial misconduct,” across a merry band of departments – including cooperative governance, roads and transport, human settlements, agriculture, and rural development. It sounds like a full team effort to sabotage the province.
Ten cases were sent off to law enforcement, and the SIU even managed to scrape back “R2,039,689.78.” According to Lesufi,
“This means that almost 60% of the value lost through fraud and corruption was recovered by GPG [Gauteng provincial government] departments in the last quarter.”
That’s like saying, “Sure, we set the house on fire, but we managed to save the lounge suite.”
In total, “88 people have faced consequence management” (whatever that means) and “55 criminal cases have been registered.”
I’m sure that’s supposed to make us feel like someone’s being held accountable – although if history’s anything to go by, most will get slaps on the wrist and promotions somewhere else.
Lesufi also flexed about firing three heads of department who didn’t pass lifestyle audits. “I can confirm over the weekend I received the final report from the SIU, and three out of the four HODs do not comply. Based on this, I have taken a decision to remove the affected HODs from their positions.” A round of applause for doing the bare minimum, sir.
And because this mess needs receipts, here’s how the 47 reports were spread:
- Health: 16
- Social development: 7
- Community safety: 7
- Cooperative governance and traditional affairs: 4
- Sport, arts, culture and recreation: 3
- Roads and transport: 2
- Treasury: 2
- Human settlements: 2
- Education/e-Government: 1
- e-Government: 1
- Treasury/Education: 1
- Premier’s office: 1
In the end, it’s not just the money that’s missing – it’s trust, accountability, and any sense of urgency. We’re expected to cheer because more than half has been recovered? Excuse me while I go scream into a pothole while the lights flicker on and off and the tap water runs blue.
[Source: News24]
