Panyaza Lesufi under fire for vowing to ‘immediately’ sponsor Moja Love’s ‘Sizokthola’

Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi has come under fire for wanting to sponsor Moja Love's show Sizokthola, with many saying the funds should instead go towards fixing the province's social issues. 

Moja Love debuted the new reality TV show on Sunday. It focuses on drugs, addiction and their impact on society. 

The first episode saw the crew and police officers go to Sunnyside, Pretoria, to arrest alleged drug-dealers.

The episode was praised by many, including Panyaza, who said it deserves sponsorship from government. 

He said he has instructed his communication and marketing team to sponsor the show with immediate effect.

“I’ve since instructed my communication and marketing team to immediately sponsor this show. This is not television but a nation’s call,” he wrote.

“Well done Moja Love. Drugs are destroying our nation. This is the content we as government must support.”

TimesLIVE reached out to the premier for comment, but he had not responded by the time of publishing this article. It will be updated once received.

Panyaza was criticised by many who said that government has failed its people. They said the funds to sponsor the show could be used to fix the province's hospitals, roads, water infrastructure, electricity issues, emergency services and homelessness, among other things. 

DA chief whip Siviwe Gwarube lashed out at Panyaza, saying he can’t instruct his team to spend public money without procurement processes being followed. 

“Premier, surely you can’t just ‘instruct your team’ to spend public money without any procurement processes being followed. Whatever your feelings are about the programme, you can’t just ‘instruct’ people to use money that isn’t yours. The PFMA [Public Finance Management Act] exists for a reason. You know this,” said Siviwe. 

Here is a snapshot of what many had to say: