Lesufi announced that plans were in place to ensure there are no power or water outages during the summit
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi is being accused of covering up service delivery failures in the province to impress international guests coming to the G20 Summit at the end of November.
This comes after Lesufi announced that plans were in place to ensure that there are no power or water outages in the City of Johannesburg during the two-day summit.
The summit will be held in Johannesburg at the Nasrec Expo centre and will be attended by heads of state and other dignitaries.
This is the first time the summit will be held in Africa.
DA Gauteng leader Solly Msimanga, however, has criticised Lesufi for implementing temporary fixes in the province.
“The residents of Gauteng can no longer be treated as mere weekend specials by a premier obsessed with saving face to hide his incompetence.
“They need uninterrupted water and electricity beyond the G20 Summit.
“They need well maintained roads and functioning traffic lights to end fatal crashes,” said Msimanga on Thursday.
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Lesufi and Joburg Mayor Dada Morero have also been accused of putting in extra effort to ensure that the Johannesburg CBD is clean ahead of the summit.
The City of Johannesburg has gone as far as removing hawkers on the side of the streets in the CBD and placing them at designated areas.
“They (residents) need a safe and clean Johannesburg CBD throughout the year, not when the world descends on our province,” said Msimanga.
“This could be likened to putting lipstick on a pig,” he said.
Frustrations with service delivery
Msimanga said Lesufi’s promise of uninterrupted water and electricity is a slap in the face for Johannesburg residents who have been complaining about service delivery.
“Water and electricity outages have long been a source of frustration for residents across Gauteng. Potholes are as common as daybreak, while many streetlights and traffic lights have not been functional for almost a year,” he said.
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Heightened security
Meanwhile, Lesufi has also told reporters at a press conference this week that there will be a heightened security presence around the Nasrec Expo Centre. He said there will be protection for the guests to the summit as well.
“The South African Police Service (Saps), with full coordination of other law enforcement agencies, has robust plans in place that we have all adopted and accepted, and that these are the plans that will make sure that Gauteng is safe.
“Our multi-level law enforcement strategy will see delegates escorted by a unified force comprising of Saps, national traffic police, Gauteng provincial traffic and all metropolitan traffic departments will be deployed to escort and support visitors,” he said.
Meanwhile, US president Donald Trump has confirmed that he is not coming to the summit despite his country hosting the summit next year.
He launched a fresh attack on South Africa this week, saying he does not believe that the G20 summit should be held in Johannesburg.
“I am not going to represent our country there it should not be there,” he said.
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