- The EFF is calling for Panyaza Lesufi's removal as Gauteng Education MEC.
- According to a report, Lesufi is heard saying about tenders that "our people should be satisfied… and looked after".
- Lesufi rejects the allegations.
The EFF is calling for the removal of Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi for what the party describes as "damning reports of his conspiracy to conduct tender corruption for the benefit of his allies".
On Sunday, City Press reported that Lesufi was heard on a recording, in a meeting with his team, where his department's tenders were discussed.
Lesufi reportedly said about tenders that "our people should be satisfied… and looked after".
"As the EFF, we are not surprised by the pure thuggery of Panyaza Lesufi, who behaves like a cowboy every time there are matters confronting the Basic Education Sector in Gauteng, yet never fundamentally resolves anything," reads the EFF's statement released on Sunday.
Plotting
"We, therefore, call for the immediate removal of Panyaza Lesufi as an MEC, for brazenly plotting patronage and the robbery of the Basic Education Sector in Gauteng in a time of global economic crisis. Lesufi's nefarious scheme of self-enrichment is a sabotage of education and the future of children, and is tantamount to treason."
The EFF has long called for the tender system to be abolished, saying it "only exists to serve the interests of an elite few, while undermining state capacity and surrendering critical services to a parasitic private sector".
Lesufi's office, meanwhile, rejected what it called "misleading reports" in the City Press.
"MEC Lesufi rejects this with the contempt it deserves and wants to assure the people and, specifically contractors of Gauteng, that the GDE runs a fair and transparent process of appointing and allocating work to contracted service providers," reads a statement from his spokesperson Steve Mabona.