The Gauteng Provincial Government has denounced the recent media reports suggesting that Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s recently announced R64-million energy project forms part of the Hawks corruption probe.

The provincial government has labelled the report as a sensational and misleading piece of propaganda which falsely associates the Premier with the Hawks investigation.

Gauteng government spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga says the probe is focused on a municipal entity, City Power and not the Premier or the provincial government.

“This article is actually misleading because the Premier and provincial government are not allowed to meddle in the procurement process of the municipalities. The attempt to drag the name of the Premier into the City Power’s internal investigations are unfounded and we think they are a clear attempt to create sensationalist headlines.”

“Because City Power is accountable solely to the CoJ [City of Johannesburg]. The other point is that the relational of provincial government and City Power is correctly managed by provincial CoGTA [Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs] via a memorandum of understanding,” adds Mhlanga.