AfriForum demands transparency about details of Lesufi’s new offices

ByAfriForum

After the Gauteng Provincial Government announced on social media that the Premier of Gauteng, Panyaza Lesufi’s, new offices are at 55 Marshall Street, AfriForum is pushing for the necessary transparency. This building formerly served as the corporate headquarters of Anglo American Platinum. Anglo American announced in a statement that the building has been sold to Olitzki Property Holdings (OPH), who will now lease it to a “prominent tenant”.

The civil rights organisation AfriForum’s legal team today made a formal application in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) to the Gauteng Provincial government, as well as the lessor of the building, to request the following information:

  1. A copy of the lease agreement between the Premier’s office and OPH for the property at 55 Marshall Street in Marshalltown.
  2. Financial records showing the monthly rent and expenses for this property. This includes all records regarding relocation fees, office equipment purchases and expense lists for the new office.
  3. Records regarding the decision-making process to move the office of the Premier to the property, including minutes of the meeting and correspondence.
  4. Records, documents and correspondence indicating other properties that the office of the prime minister has considered for relocation and the proposed rental amount of these properties.

According to Ernst van Zyl, head of Public Relations at AfriForum, it is the Gauteng Provincial Government’s responsibility to provide transparency to the residents of the province about exactly how they allocate funds in the midst of a water, infrastructure and crime crisis in this province.

“Lesufi has a very rotten record when it comes to wasting money under his watch. When Lesufi was MEC of Education in Gauteng, his department wasted R431 million on the disinfection and deep cleaning of empty schools. His poor record necessitates more transparency when it comes to financial matters,” concludes Van Zyl.

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