Gauteng premier, Panyaza Lesufi. (Photo: @Lesufi/X)
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi has apologised to President Cyril Ramaphosa for the province’s current state, which has seen residents grappling with water cuts, potholes, non-functional robots, and ongoing service delivery problems.
Ramaphosa expressed his disappointment with the Gauteng government during his visit to the province with his national executive in a meeting which was held at the Johannesburg Council Chambers on Thursday.
“Sometimes it is good to be direct and to tell it as it is. I should say one or two G20 meetings I attended here were not pleasing. The environment that one observed was not pleasing. I say this so that we improve immensely,” Ramaphosa said.
This is the fourth engagement that the national executive is having with the leadership of a province following engagements with the provincial governments of Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga.
According to the president’s office, the visits are aimed at ensuring better alignment of provincial priorities with the priorities of the Government of National Unity (GNU) and require that different spheres of government must cooperate with one another in mutual trust and good faith.
Speaking to journalists after the meeting outside the Johannesburg council chambers, Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi said he had apologised to the president.
“I apologised to the president that he had that particular experience and we felt that we will identify venues for other meetings, and we will identify areas that we believe will leave a lasting legacy and a lasting impression to those that will be visiting our country,” Lesufi said.
Gauteng is expected to host the G20 leaders summit in November, with Ramaphosa and many South Africans questioning whether the province is ready to host world leaders.
Making his opening remarks during the provincial meeting, Ramaphosa said the G20 summit means that the eyes of the world would be on South Africa particularly, Gauteng and Johannesburg.
The province and city should therefore be in “tip-top positions” and show what they have to offer, said the president, which is how he found venues and areas in countries that he visited.
He said he agreed with Lesufi that if the government does not move with speed to address the critical challenges identified in the State of the Province Address, they risk undermining the progress the government has made.
There are recurring problems across Gauteng, said Ramaphosa, including governance failures, financial mismanagement, crumbling infrastructure, crime and lawlessness and unreliable service delivery. Unemployment and poverty remained problems.
“These are the challenges we all must face head on. Gauteng’s unique position in the national landscape is both an opportunity and a challenge. While it may be the smallest province in terms of land size, it is a giant in many other respects.”
“Gauteng contributes the largest share of any province to the country’s Gross Domestic Product. It is the single most critical economic hub in the country, serving as a powerhouse of finance, governance, industry and innovation.”
He added that the economic success of Gauteng is integral to the economic success of South Africa, saying the province is where government policies, plans and commitments must translate into action.
“The Gauteng economy has grown at a faster rate than the national economy. What emerges from this meeting must not remain as just plans on paper. The outcomes of this meeting must be transformed into practical, measurable interventions that directly benefit the people of Gauteng.”
Lesufi said the province was ready to host the G20 and he committed on behalf of the provincial and local government that they will improve the situation.
The Gauteng government under Lesufi has been accused of populism and announcing things which were not practical to implement like the Nasi Is’pani programme which was announced close to the general elections.
Questions have been raised by opposition parties about why the provincial government feels it will resolve the problems which have been facing the province for years in just a couple of months ahead of the G20 summit.
“The problem is that the trust deficit is too much. Some of these problems have been there for a long time, they are contained in various documents even when you deposit new ideas, people feel it’s just another new idea,” Lesufi said.
“Give us space, now that we have identified these issues, they have been embraced the way that they have been embraced, now that we have put possible solutions and there is consideration to work with those solutions. We really believe we are on the right path.”
He added that the province was prepared to build a better Gauteng for all citizens, saying that should they not be able to tackle the problems of the province, no one will benefit including the visitors from other countries.
“Our approach is that anything that is broken or needs immediate attention, let’s ensure that we fix it to be enjoyed by everyone, not a certain section of society. We will be naive that a G20 that is held here in our continent for the first time can’t be a special event that can’t have its own legacy programmes.”