OPINION | Gauteng’s economic woes due to poor policies, financial mismanagement

The medium-term budget policy statement, delivered by Gauteng’s MEC for finance, Lebogang Maile, paints a picture of hope and resilience amid fiscal challenges.

But a closer examination reveals a speech rife with propaganda, hollow promises, and an attempt to whitewash the failings of premier Panyaza Lesufi's administration.

This administration, beset by financial mismanagement, lack of oversight and amateurish decision-making, has worsened Gauteng’s economic woes, leaving the province on the brink of failure.

Maile acknowledges the financial crunch, stating, “We are losing money from different angles”. But he carefully omits that many of these angles are self-inflicted wounds caused by poor policies and mismanagement at both national and provincial levels.

At the national level, poor economic policies have strangled growth, reduced revenue and triggered budget cuts for provincial departments. Gauteng, the economic powerhouse of SA, has seen diminished allocations due to this failure to stimulate economic activity.

Instead of acknowledging specific failures, such as underspending, the administration touts “fiscal discipline” as a solution while simultaneously continuing to waste limited resources that impact service delivery.

The decision to allocate more than R20bn over five years to settle the e-toll debt further places the fiscus under pressure. This debt arose from a lack of consultation with Gauteng residents when the project was implemented. While scrapping the e-tolls may seem like a victory, the financial burden of repayment will severely impact service delivery for many years to come and will be borne by taxpayers.

Gauteng’s financial mismanagement is staggering. The province has generated more than R46bn in irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditures, exposing its inability to maintain basic oversight. Hospitals, already under immense strain, face billions in medico-legal claims due to negligence. Another example, for instance, is the R500m that was wasted refurbishing the AngloGold Ashanti hospital, a project abandoned shortly after completion.

Adding insult to injury, the administration expects to be lauded for reinstating budget allocations for Non-Profit Organisations (NPOs) that it had previously cut. These NPOs, critical for serving Gauteng’s most vulnerable, were thrown into chaos due to the government’s erratic decision-making.

Maile’s promises of public-private partnerships (PPPs) and alternative funding sources are not new. These strategies have been touted before but rarely implemented effectively. Gauteng’s declining quality of life, marked by rising unemployment, poverty, hunger, and homelessness, starkly contrasts with the vision painted in the medium-term budget policy statement.

The reality is that private-sector co-operation, which could indeed help stabilise the province, remains elusive. Arrogant and immature comments by leaders like Lesufi and Maile have alienated potential investors. Their rhetoric does little to inspire confidence in a government plagued by inefficiency and corruption.

The financial crunch Gauteng faces is a direct result of the ANC’s decades-long governance failures. Poor planning, lack of accountability, and prioritisation of cadre deployment over competency have eroded the province’s economic base. The Lesufi administration is not an outlier but a continuation of this destructive legacy.

Gauteng deserves better than hollow rhetoric. It requires competent leadership that prioritises service delivery, fiscal responsibility, and meaningful partnerships with the private sector. Until the ruling party confronts its failures and adopts a genuine commitment to reform, Gauteng will remain on a path towards economic and social collapse.

• Fuchs is a member of the standing committee on public accounts (Scopa)