Durban - Chairing his first cabinet lekgotla since he was named KZN premier last month, Sihle Zikalala read the riot act to his team of ten MECs, mayors and senior civil servants, telling them that laziness and corruption will not be tolerated under his watch.
Zikalala said those who did not deliver as per their prescribed duties will be removed from their positions without hesitation and told them that they must not see that as some form of political victimisation, but see it as a way of ensuring that the provincial government delivers to the people.
Zikalala was addressing the KZN cabinet lekgotla in Durban on Monday.
The lekgotla comes a week after the ruling party held its own lekgotla in Empangeni to influence the direction of the provincial government for the 2019-2024 term of office.
"Now, we must serve rules from the beginning, when we start implementing them, you must not ask many questions or say you are being targeted. No, no, no, there is no agenda against anyone, systems will be guiding us, If the problem is at the political level, equally, we have to do so... if there is not work done by the department, people should not say the department is targeted," Zikalala said.
At the gathering, Zikalala also spoke about the prevalent issue of irregular expenditure in government departments and local municipalities. The scourge has cost government billions and it has been flagged by the Auditor General for years.
He said that should be curbed and addressed as soon as it is picked up. He dispelled the notion that when the Treasury department intervenes, it is displaying a big brother mentality.
"If the department is accruing irregular expenditure, it should be able to detect that each and every quarter and say here there is an irregular expenditure. Declare it or correct it so that at the end of the year the government does not lament about irregular expenditure or wasteful expenditure... There is a feeling that Treasury sometimes acts like a big brother.
"We must be clear from the beginning that if Treasury is enforcing accountability, they are doing their work and that should be understood as such," said Zikalala.
The lekgotla was expected to conclude on Wednesday afternoon.