Gauteng Premier David Makhura says he decided to deploy former Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi to the Department of Finance and e-Government because he believes Lesufi will help ensure clean governance.
Lesufi is considered to be one of the hardest working government officials and he has been instrumental in the rollout of Information and Communications Technology infrastructure in schools.
— Gauteng Provincial Gov (@GautengProvince) May 30, 2019
He has also, however, come under fire from others who have accused him of unfairly targeting Afrikaans schools.
Lesufi and nine other newly-appointed MECs were sworn in, in Parktown, Johannesburg on Thursday.
Makhura says he needed a capable person to head his Finance Department.
“He’s the kind of a man I need to fight corruption. Clean governance is the key mandate of that portfolio. Treasury is a very specialised department. Treasury is also linked with a department that is new, e-government. What is our dream in Gauteng? We want people to access government services in their homes, on their handsets, in their cars. You don’t have to go and queue at Home Affairs, with provincial government over the next five years. We want to bring more services online.”
Meanwhile, newly-appointed Gauteng Health MEC Bandile Masuku says he intends to reduce the waiting time for patients at public hospitals and clinics, as well as boost staff morale. He was talking to the media after taking his oath of office in Parktown, Johannesburg.
— Gauteng Provincial Gov (@GautengProvince) May 30, 2019
Masuku was sworn in as a member of the Provincial Executive Council (PEC) alongside nine other colleagues. Masuku says he understands the challenges faced by the Health Department.
“Waiting time; waiting time to get the medicine; waiting time for surgery, maybe in terms of surgery, and other things. So, that’s the first priority that I’m going to do. And I know for a fact that the staff morale in all our facilities and the department in general is very low. So, it’s one thing that we’re going to focus on, and dealing with staff morale is an issue that relates to shortage itself; issues of remuneration and all those things. So, staff morale and patient experience are the key things that we’re going to focus on.”
