Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s ongoing failure to exercise proper oversight over municipalities continues to undermine service delivery in Gauteng and create fertile ground for corruption. His poor oversight has now resulted in R64 million committed for his township electrification programme becoming a key focus of a high-level corruption investigation by the Hawks into Johannesburg’s electricity entity, City Power. The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng demands improved oversight of municipalities and an end to the entrenched corruption.
Media reports indicate that the Premier’s transformer replacement project, introduced on the eve of the May 2024 national and provincial elections to electrify townships and urban areas that had suffered years of darkness, is now shrouded in controversy.
The Office of the Premier’s annual report for the 2023/2024 financial year claims to have delivered 336 transformers by March 2024. However, in December 2023, City Power paid Mustard Seed Technologies R64.5 million to purchase only 81 transformers, which is only 24% of the claimed total and significantly exceeds the R32 million budget recorded in municipal and provincial documents. The payments to the contractor and the tender documents are among other documents confiscated by the Hawks during a raid on City Power on 25 September 2025.
It is deeply concerning that Lesufi continues to allocate millions of rands to municipalities without properly monitoring their spending. As a direct consequence of this failure, municipalities operate without accountability or oversight, particularly from the Gauteng Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA). This breakdown in oversight has led to this troubling situation where contracts appear to have been paid out for more than what was delivered, highlighting issues of mismanagement and possible corruption.
The DA has expressed concerns regarding the ongoing failure of service delivery in municipalities like the Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM), where some residents have been without electricity for years. We have also refuted Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s assertion that the promised transformers have been provided to the affected communities. These revelations validate our persistent concerns and clearly highlight the discrepancies between the Premier’s promises and the reality on the ground, which is a result of incompetence in performing oversight.
The DA supports the Hawks’ investigation into the alleged corruption involving City Power and Mustard Seed and calls for no stone to be left unturned in uncovering the full extent of wrongdoing. We further demand that Premier Panyaza Lesufi himself be investigated to determine any possible involvement or negligence that may have contributed to this fishy tender. If found to be linked to this corruption, he must resign immediately.
Residents of Johannesburg deserve to know what really transpired regarding who was behind their deprivation of such a necessity as electricity.
The DA will, as part of our infrastructure campaign, be visiting Emfuleni on Wednesday to assess whether the transformers promised by Lesufi in 2024 have been delivered. We will also be following up on this Hawks case against City Power and the contractor to ensure that those implicated are held accountable.
A DA-led Gauteng Provincial Government would not throw money at municipalities and allow them to spend it without proper financial controls to eliminate corruption and ensure effective implementation. Furthermore, we would implement our infrastructure plan to ensure that the people of Gauteng receive quality services in their communities.