No officials held accountable in R197 million Gauteng Airwing contract scandal

Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi has failed to hold officials accountable for the R197 million Gauteng Airwing contract scandal.

This is feedback from the Gauteng Provincial Legislature member, Michael Sun, who provided an update on the scandal.

Lesufi launched the Gauteng Traffic Police Airwing on 1 April 2024 to strengthen law enforcement and give officers an aerial advantage in the fight against crime.

However, two years later, the grounding of the Gauteng Traffic Police Airwing has left Gauteng residents with no meaningful safety benefit.

The helicopter contract, valued at R197,455,554.30 and awarded to Simunye Air Charter, has breached the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA).

The contract also contravened the Treasury Regulations and the applicable national Transversal Contract.

Sun said that Lesufi’s government knew about the R197 million Airwing contract irregularities in July 2024, yet no officials were held accountable.

He added that Gauteng has no plan to recover the R156.4 million that was already irregularly paid to the service provider.

“We will write to Premier Panyaza Lesufi requesting that he suspends the officials implicated in the R197 million Gauteng Airwing contract,” he said.

“We demand that he discloses who knew about the irregularities and when and present a clear plan to recover the R156.4 million.”

“He must also ensure transparent procurement of a replacement Airwing service and provide regular updates on the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) investigation.”

Sun’s demands followed Lesufi’s confirmation that the Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) was aware of the irregularities but failed to hold people accountable.

Lesufi disclosed that the possible irregularities or non-compliance around the Simunye contract came to their attention on 23 July 2024.

This came after the Auditor-General flagged the controversial contract in the 2024 financial year audit process.

The contract was only terminated on 6 January 2026, almost 18 months after the Gauteng Provincial Government became aware of the irregularities.

No disciplinary or precautionary action has been taken against the four officials identified as persons of interest in the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) investigation.

Furthermore, Lesufi reported that there is currently no plan to recover the R156.4 million irregularly paid to the service provider.

“This failure to act has denied Gauteng residents an effective airwing to support policing operations, combat crime, and respond swiftly to emergencies,” he said.

Sun said that this is a slap in the face of Gauteng residents whose taxpayer money was wasted on the project.

“They have a right to know why the officials who broke the Public Financial Management Act and Treasury Regulations are still in their jobs,” he said.

“Either Lesufi is shielding officials implicated in serious procurement irregularities, or he is failing to enforce consequence management.”