The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng has submitted a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) application to force Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi to release 177 Gauteng provincial government (GPG) forensic investigation reports, following accusations the party made that he was shielding the corrupt in the province.

The DA said it had made multiple attempts, since 2019, to get Panyaza to make all completed forensic reports public.

Official Leader of the Opposition in Gauteng Solly Msimanga said his party demanded the original reports to assess the extent of alleged corruption within Gauteng government departments.

He said corruption took away money that could have been used to improve and deliver basic services to residents.

“We don’t want doctored versions of these reports,” he said.

Msimanga asserted that Gauteng residents had the right to know the outcomes of these investigations.

“As the official opposition in the Gauteng provincial legislature, we have the responsibility to ensure that all the recommendations in these reports are implemented accordingly. It is unacceptable that we had to take the drastic step of submitting a PAIA application to receive the forensic reports that should have been made public in the first place,” stated Msimanga.

He believes that if Lesufi had “nothing to hide” he would have handed over the reports to the party’s offices.

“For far too long, we have been calling on the Premier to release all the forensic reports, a plea which has fallen on deaf ears. This indicates that the Premier is trying to shield corrupt politicians and officials who are unduly benefiting from tenders issued by the GPG,” he said.

The DA said it had also been approached by various whistleblowers who had claimed corruption in GPG departments.

Msimanga said one whistleblower has resorted to leaking parts of a forensic investigation in the Department of Social Development in a bid to expose corruption.

After studying the reports, the party will approach the Public Protector, the Auditor-General South Africa, and the Public Service Commission.

“A DA government will immediately implement all the recommendations made in forensic reports once an investigation is completed,” Msimanga said.

He further pledged that the DA would make the reports public.