By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has announced that the party will table a motion of no confidence against Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi.
The DA Gauteng Leadership addressed the media following Lesufi’s announcement to disband the Gauteng Traffic Wardens, widely known as “Amapanyaza”, which has been deemed unsustainable.
“We warned that the recruits were not adequately trained, insufficiently resourced, and did not meet the legal criteria to serve as peace officers, “stated DA Gauteng leader Solly Msimanga.
“Premier Lesufi chose to ignore these warnings, pressing ahead with a costly programme that has now collapsed under its own weight.”
“We will therefore be tabling a motion of no confidence in Premier Lesufi for his reckless and irresponsible implementation of the failed Amapanyaza project. The DA will be taking strong action to hold Lesufi accountable,” said Msimanga.
He argued that the disbandment vindicated the DA’s argument that the programme was “poorly planned, was very costly, and had no genuine intention of empowering these desperate men and women to become peace officers”.
Msimanga described it as a gimmick to “score cheap political points”.
He said the programme had been highly criticised because of damages and losses incurred.
“Some wardens lost their lives. Unfortunately, the truth has finally caught up with Lesufi, forcing him to reconsider this ill-conceived decision.
“It was inevitable that the arrogant and goalpost-shifting Premier Lesufi would not have disbanded this unlawful project until he was left with nowhere to turn. Were it not for the persistent pressure from the DA and the damning remarks by KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Police Commissioner, Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, who confirmed before the Ad-Hoc Committee that the Amapanyaza were unlawful and not sanctioned under the South African Police Service Act, Lesufi would have carried on,” stated Msimanga.
He pointed to the Public Protector’s revelations that establishing, appointing, deploying and allowing Amapanyaza to conduct operations with the South African Police Service without legal authority, was in fact irregular.
He stated that Lesufi’s actions violated Section 41(1)(f) and (g) of the Constitution, which prohibit government entities from assuming powers not granted to them or encroaching on the functions of another sphere of government.
“Under Section 206(4) of the Constitution, provincial governments do not have policing powers, only oversight and monitoring functions,” he said.
This comes hot on the heels of Lesufi’s announcement that the AmaPanyaza programme will be disbanded in a phased approach over the next 36 months, with wardens undergoing retraining to become fully-fledged Traffic Officers.
The African National Congress (ANC) expressed confidence in Lesufi’s leadership. ANC spokesperson Mzi Khumalo said that the party would defeat any motion.
“Our ANC Caucus of the GPL (Gauteng Provincial Legislature) will work with other political parties to defeat the DA’s motion of no confidence.
“We remain confident in the leadership of comrade Panyaza Lesufi as our Premier,” Khumalo said.
The margins within the provincial legislature are razor-thin, with only six seats separating the ANC and the DA, which have 28 and 22 seats, respectively.
MK party and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have a combined 19 seats — eight and 11, respectively — with the remaining seven parties holding a collective 11 seats.