Panyaza Lesufi reveals plans to fight crime and fix Gauteng's service delivery
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi joined Breakfast with Martin Bester for his first-ever live interview on Jacaranda FM, where the team made sure the province’s most pressing issues were put directly to him.
From crime and potholes to water, electricity, rates and taxes, Breakfast with Martin Bester gave listeners the opportunity to ask Lesufi the questions that matter most to Gauteng residents.
The Premier joined Martin Bester, Philicity Reeken and Xola Ntshinga for a wide-ranging interview about his life, career and plans for the province, but the difficult questions were not avoided.
How the Premier plans to fight crime
Crime was one of the biggest concerns raised by listeners.
“If there’s a single thing that makes me not sleep well at night, and continue with my sleepless nights, it’s crime.”
Lesufi said Gauteng’s economy cannot flourish if crime is not brought under control.
“If you can’t manage crime, we are not going to manage our economy. And if you can’t manage our economy, you are not going to attract investment.”
He outlined a 10-point approach to changing the way Gauteng fights crime:
1. Satellite technology
Law enforcement will increasingly use satellite technology and footage to help identify and track criminal activity.
2. More CCTV cameras
The province wants CCTV surveillance expanded, particularly in strategic and high-crime areas.
3. Drones
Drones will be used to monitor areas and assist authorities in responding to incidents.
4. Helicopters
Lesufi wants helicopters available across different regions to support law-enforcement operations.
5. A new vehicle registration system
Lesufi said number plates are currently too easy to forge or replace.
“The current car registration numbers are easily forged.”
He wants a system that makes vehicles and their owners easier to trace.
6. A more cashless Gauteng
Lesufi believes reducing physical cash could help curb business robberies, cash-in-transit crimes and muggings.
7. Managing crime hotspots
The Premier wants greater focus on what he called “centres of dispute”, including taverns and drinking establishments, through licensing and operating-hour regulations.
8. Tackling illegal firearms
Lesufi said improved firearm registration and tracing technology will be important in preventing legally manufactured weapons from entering the illegal market.
9. Targeting repeat offenders
Authorities have profiled individuals believed to be responsible for significant criminal activity, with Lesufi saying law-enforcement agencies need to track repeat offenders more strategically.
10. One Gauteng law-enforcement response
Lesufi said municipal law-enforcement agencies need to pool their resources instead of being limited by municipal boundaries.
“You can’t chase a criminal in Tshwane. When they step in Midrand, you pull back.”
He said municipalities have agreed to combine resources when required, giving police access to additional personnel, vehicles and other resources.
Despite reporting a 5.2% decrease in crime during the previous quarter, Lesufi acknowledged that much more needs to be done.
“It’s a drop in an ocean if you check the number of crime that we have.”
Potholes, water, electricity and streetlights
Breakfast with Martin Bester also challenged Lesufi on everyday service-delivery frustrations, including potholes, unreliable water and electricity, and broken streetlights and traffic lights.
Lesufi said one major challenge is that responsibility for infrastructure is split between local, provincial and national government.
A road that residents assume belongs to a municipality could actually fall under provincial or national government.
He said Gauteng is working to streamline this system.
“We don’t care whether it’s a national road or provincial road. As long as the streetlight is not working, go and fix it.”
Lesufi’s five-year vision for Gauteng
Asked about the next five years, Lesufi said Gauteng needs to reposition its economy beyond its historic reliance on gold and mining.
According to Lesufi, Gauteng contributes almost 35% of South Africa’s GDP.
His plan is to develop different economic hubs.
Johannesburg: Technology and telecommunications
Lesufi said Johannesburg should increasingly focus on ICT, technology and telecommunications.
Tshwane: Government, research and automotive
Tshwane’s economy, according to the Premier, should be centred around government, universities and research institutions, as well as the automotive industry.
West Rand: Agriculture and energy
Lesufi sees agriculture as a major economic opportunity for the West Rand.
He also wants the region to play a larger role in energy security, including solar energy, while maintaining the mining activity that remains viable.
Southern Gauteng: Water-related industries
The southern areas of Gauteng, including the Vaal region, would increasingly focus on industries associated with water and manufacturing.
One of Lesufi's most ambitious plans is a high-speed train connecting Gauteng and Polokwane, with a targeted journey time of around 67 minutes.
“That thing must happen in our lifetime.”
Early life and education
Lesufi also opened up about growing up in Thembisa after his family was forcibly removed from Edenvale under apartheid.
The youngest child in his family, he said his parents placed enormous importance on education.
“My family felt that this one must just go to school, against all odds.”
His political involvement began at school and resulted in his arrest while he was in matric.
“I had to write my matric in prison.”
He later studied in Natal, became involved in student leadership and campus radio, and later obtained a master’s degree in business administration.
Had politics not become his career, however, Lesufi says he might have chosen another path.
“Stage acting would have been it. I love acting.”
How Andrek became Panyaza
Lesufi also revealed that Panyaza is not actually part of his official name.
His name is Andrek, derived from Hendrik, which his mother struggled to pronounce.
During his youth, a friend suggested changing the name on his school books to “Supa Panyaza” while police were looking for him because of his political involvement.
Lesufi also recalled playing football and being compared with a Moroka Swallows player whose name included Panyaza.
The nickname eventually stuck.
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