Gauteng restructuring 'not a cover for purge'

GAUTENG premier Nomvula Mokonyane's plans to restructure, or even scrap, some of the province's parastatals have received the backing of some ANC branches.

This despite claims by her detractors that she was using "rationalisation" to "purge" the allies of ANC provincial chairman and former premier Paul Mashatile, many of whom hold key positions in parastatals.

ANC provincial spokesman Nkenke Kekana confirmed to The Times that a meeting of the general council of the party, attended by 335 Gauteng branches, had pledged support for the premier's plans to merge and even wind up some government-owned business units.

Such a move could result in the closure of the controversial Gauteng Economic Development Centre and the merger of agencies such as Blue IQ and the Gauteng Economic Development Agency.

Most of these bodies are headed by people with close ties to Mashatile, some of whom are said to be members of the former premier's "Alex mafia" - a group of influential people who all hail from Alexandra township.

Mashatile denies the existence of such a group, the members of which are accused of using their positions in the provincial government to amass wealth.

Kekana said it was "untrue" that Mokonyane's restructuring plans were motivated by her desire to rid her government of Mashatile's associates.

"The transformation of the government is part of an ANC review programme that looked at progress made since 1994.

"Whether it is Mokonyane or any other ANC member who was the premier, the review proposals would have been implemented. It is not correct to suggest that transformation of the government in this province is being used to deal with individuals," Kekana said.

The Gauteng Shared Services Centre was established in 2001 to provide the provincial government with "internal support services", including auditing, technology support, and human resources and procurement services.

But Mokonyane and other ANC leaders in the province say the services centre contributes to the slow delivery of services to communities and hampers the functioning of key institutions, such as hospitals.

Mokonyane has since announced that procurement services will be taken away from the services centre - a move seen as a step towards its eventual closure.

The services centre is headed by Mashatile's long-time friend, Mike Maile, whose younger brother, Lebogang, played a leading role in the campaign to have Mashatile elected ANC provincial chairman in 2007.

Provincial spokesman Kekana, who also denies the existence of the Alex mafia, said: "If people have information about a 'mafia' operating within government in Gauteng, they are free to come forward. These allegations must be put to the test and dealt with."