Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi announced the immediate suspension of Nontsikelelo Sisulu, the Community Safety Head of Department, and Chief Financial Officer, Mduduzi Malope, on Tuesday, 5 August 2025.

The suspensions follow the conclusion of a forensic investigation by the Provincial Forensic Audit Unit within the Office of the Premier, which uncovered financial irregularities in the department.

The case is part of the 39 forensic investigations reports that the Premier made publicly available last Sunday.

Lesufi stated his intervention was prompted by a need to safeguard the department’s integrity, adding that the suspensions are a precautionary measure to ensure unbiased and fair investigations.

“The provincial government is committed to restoring public trust by upholding the highest standards of integrity. We maintain a zero-tolerance stance against corruption and misconduct. Through proactive and corrective measures, we will strengthen governance, ensure the ethical and responsible use of public funds, and safeguard the interests of Gauteng residents,” said Lesufi.

In addition, he said the acting Head of Department and acting Chief Financial Officer will be appointed to ensure continuity of service delivery.

On Sunday, Lesufi addressed the media on the outcomes of the recently concluded a set of forensic investigation reports, which have been finalised by the Provincial Forensic Audit Unit. This latest release follows an earlier briefing held on 24 June 2025, where the Premier made public the outcomes of 47 forensic reports.  

“On the 17th of July, I responded to matters from our ethical council that responded to members or heads of departments who could not finish or conclude their lifestyle audits. I also indicated on the 17th of July that there were departments that underspent seriously. The total underspending at the time was R1.8 billion. It has now gone to R1.3 billion after the authorisation of some of the transactions that we requested be carried over. To me, this was a serious underspending by heads of departments. Some departments have missed their departmental performance targets, and we took serious exception,” he said.

Lesufi said some of the reasons are due to service delivery challenges, and as a result, he has acted to ensure that this does not continue.

“With the serious challenges of service delivery, we cannot afford departments that are missing their targets. We also found some audit outcomes, which indicated that some departments are not performing ideally. Within that context, I have decided to reshuffle and reset heads of departments and remove other heads of departments from their responsibilities. From the 1st of August,” he stated.

sinenhlanhla.masilela@iol.co.za

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