Gauteng is facing a severe service delivery crisis and is in dire need of permanent Heads of Departments (HODs) with full authority, long-term strategy, and decision-making capacity to deliver adequate services to its residents. Instead of advertising the HODs post before the end of contracts, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi waited until the contracts had expired to appoint acting HODs, most of whom are influenced by political preferences and affiliations, not based on merit, which will negatively impact the department’s capacity to deliver services to residents.
The following departments have acting HODs: Health, Social Development, Community Safety, Agriculture and Rural Development, Environment, Sports, Arts, Culture, and Recreation and Education. However, Education and Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation posts have been advertised, and we question why other departments that have acting HOD posts have not been advertised.
Without a permanent HOD in place, the departments lack proper direction and stable leadership and will create uncertainty and disrupt existing processes. Furthermore, the current woes of service delivery failures experienced in Health, Social Development, Community Safety, Environment, Agriculture and Rural Development are continuing due to a lack of consistent leadership to ensure accountability.
If Premier Lesufi is serious about improving service delivery in this province, he would fast-track the appointment of permanent HODs by advertising all the posts with acting personnel.
Additionally, there are several Heads of Department whose five-year contracts are ending on 31 December 2025; the post should also be advertised to ensure that recruitment processes are concluded before their contracts expire to avoid appointing acting personnel.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) Gauteng will be tabling follow-up questions to the Premier, to determine when all the departments with HODs will be advertising the post for permanent HOD.
A DA-led Gauteng provincial government would immediately advertise all posts that require a permanent HOD. The positions will be filled within 90 days to ensure uninterrupted service delivery to residents.