Musical chairs for suspended senior Gauteng officials

The Gauteng Provincial Government has ‘redeployed’ three senior officials under precautionary suspension for allegations of serious maladministration to other departments.

The three officials were placed on precautionary suspension by Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi in 2025, pending investigations into alleged misconduct.

These suspensions were based on findings from forensic audits and probes by bodies like the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) and the Provincial Forensic Audit Unit.

The officials placed on precautionary suspension for 60 days include:

• Lesiba Arnold Malotana – suspended Head of Department (HOD) for the Gauteng Health Department;
• Nontsikelelo Sisulu -suspended HOD for Community Safety;
• Mduduzi Malope- suspended Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for Community Safety.

According to a 2 February 2026 media statement by the provincial government, Malotana has now been deployed on a temporary basis as a senior manager in the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA).

Sisulu is now deployed on a temporary position to the Office of the Premier “to assist with service delivery priorities.”

Malope has been deployed to the Department of Environment “to help with financial administration processes.”

This has sparked backlash from the opposition in the province, who called the move “playing musical chairs” with no intention of rooting out corruption.

Leader of the official opposition in the province, the Democratic Alliance’s Solly Msimanga, said that “moving officials from one department to another is not stamping out corruption; it is sending a message that if you are corrupt, no action will be taken.”

Why they were suspended

Malotana, the suspended Head of Department for Gauteng Health, was placed on suspension in October 2025 following a lifestyle audit and an interim report by the SIU, which classified him as “high risk” due to serious financial discrepancies.

The SIU flagged unexplained cash deposits exceeding R1.6 million across multiple bank accounts that did not align with his declared income, as well as a R300,000 payment allegedly linked to a loan repayment but unsupported by documentation.

His suspension is linked to wider investigations into the misallocation of public funds, including alleged corruption and procurement manipulation at Tembisa Hospital, and associations with broader scandals involving health department contracts.

In November 2025, the Labour Court upheld the suspension as lawful and reasonable, citing evidence of potential serious misconduct.

Sisulu, the suspended Head of Department for Community Safety, was placed on precautionary suspension in August 2025 after a forensic investigation by the Gauteng Provincial Forensic Audit Unit uncovered financial irregularities in the department.

Although the findings were not publicly detailed, they reportedly involved fund mismanagement, procurement concerns, and oversight failures.

She was suspended alongside the department’s CFO, Mduduzi Malope, whose financial oversight role placed him directly at the centre of the irregularities identified.

Gauteng provincial government responds

In response to the backlash, Gauteng government spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga said that the “transfers are in line with established labour and public service guidelines.”

He cited the 60-day guidance established through the Senior Management Service Handbook and the Public Service Regulations.

Mhlanga said that, according to the guideline, if an employee is suspended as a precaution, they must be allowed back to work after 60 days, unless formal disciplinary action has already begun against them during that period.

“The aim is to avoid open-ended paid suspensions and to guarantee timely resolutions,” said the spokesperson.

“In compliance with this regulation and to avoid the untenable situation of senior managers drawing salaries without contributing to service delivery, a practice this government firmly frowns upon, we are implementing precautionary transfers.”

He said that a precautionary suspension is an administrative measure, not a punishment.

“Transferring officials to different roles minimises the risk of interference with ongoing investigations while their disciplinary processes continue independently.”

The spokesperson said that they will all continue to work in their new positions while their disciplinary proceedings continue, promising clean governance and accountability.

“We urge all stakeholders to allow due process to unfold without any speculation and to endorse measures that are both lawful and beneficial to effective governance,” he concluded.