DA defends under-fire Gauteng education MEC Lesufi

The Democratic Alliance (DA) is defending Gauteng education MEC Panyaza Lesufi amid a campaign by lobby group AfriForum to get him to resign over claims of mismanagement.

Lesufi has been the target of numerous campaigns by the civil rights organisation and more recently by the Institute of Race Relations (IRR), accusing him of bias against the Afrikaans language and failing to manage his department.

DA shadow MEC for education Khume Ramulifho, however, said while there was no excuse for failing to follow Treasury regulations, it could not be said that Lesufi was a corrupt MEC who stole money.

“The way we see it he has been a responsive MEC. Whatever we refer to his office he will not shy away from and he will take responsibility for his department in terms of accountability.

“Obviously, there are areas where we expect to see improvement in the department, but I don’t think the position of AfriForum and the IRR is informed by the current realities on the ground,” said Ramulifho.

Over the past week, the public spat escalated when Lesufi claimed he believed AfriForum was plotting to kill him, to which the minority rights group responded by threatening to sue for defamation.

The group also laid criminal charges against Lesufi last week after the auditor-general cited more than R800 million in irregular expenditure in his department.

However, Ramulifho said AfriForum might have misunderstood what was meant by this.

“We raised the issue of the nutrition programme for which the department initially had more than 400 service providers and it was difficult for them to actually manage the number of contractors,” he explained.

“So that was irregular expenditure, but not in the sense that money was stolen.

“It was simply saying you did not follow the procedure. So, what we are saying is that he must adhere to all the Treasury regulations and there is no excuse for that.”

He added that the DA supported the right of any civil society organisation to voice its views in the media and in the courts.

While Lesufi’s office did not want to comment further on the war of words between the MEC and AfriForum, his spokesperson Steven Mabona welcomed the DA’s comments.

“We are humbled by the DA’s response, they are aware of the MEC’s capabilities and his work ethic.

“He actually works very well and respects his fellow politicians irrespective of affiliation, hence he commands respect.

“He will continue to do well and focus on changing the quality of education for the better and for the benefit of all our children.”

The ANC said it would respond later today.

– simnikiweh@citizen.co.za

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