GLB commission of inquiry into corruption is just for show, while solutions are readily available
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng is not fooled by the Committee of Inquiry set up by the Gauteng MEC for Economic Development, Lebogang Maile, into the affairs of the Gauteng Liquor Board (GLB). Maile established this committee to obscure evident corruption that has escalated within the GLB for many years.
The sins of the GLB are obvious, and the solution is readily available. GLB's incompetence can be addressed through retooling its business processes. Its corruption can be purged through forensic investigation and ruthless prosecution of those guilty.
On Sunday, 15 June 2025, MEC Maile announced the appointment of a 15-member committee of inquiry to investigate the affairs of the Gauteng Liquor Board (GLB). This committee has been tasked with probing allegations of corruption, bribery, and the long processing times for liquor licenses within the board. He also announced the dismissal of five GLB personnel. However, it is understood that these dismissals took place long before the announcement was made.
In truth, the GLB is a small portion of what the Gauteng Provincial Government does. Its budget of R80 million is tiny compared to the overall budget of R1.6 billion in Maile's Department of Economic Development. This represents 5% of the department and is a minuscule portion, 0.046%, of the total provincial budget.
Maile's actions are like trying to fasten a button with a sledgehammer. These committees are expensive, and previous ones have taken an unreasonably long time to achieve anything. Just like Makhura's e-tolls committee, and the committee that was headed by Trevor Fowler to look into the state of municipalities. These inquiries have a tendency of essentially achieve nothing at all. This committee is likely to take 10 months to do its work at an estimated cost of R6 million.
If the solution is so simple, why has Maile set up this committee? He is merely trying to have the appearance of acting decisively. The MEC's move is fatally flawed for four reasons: Firstly, during the length of time it takes to do its work, the stealing within GLB will continue. Secondly, the exercise will cost a lot of money.
Thirdly, the committee will be buried in an avalanche of complaints, allegations, and documents, while the real nuggets are hidden. Perhaps this is what Maile wants. Not all the perpetrators are his enemies. Any friends that he exposes could turn on him and his allies. Finally, the eventual report will cover so much ground that the real priorities will be difficult to identify.
No sooner had the committee been identified than allegations emerged that various committee members are tainted in one way or another. One may validly query whether it is wise to appoint previous employees of the GLB, such as Mpho Mosing and Jennifer Rankeng. Fhedzisani Pandelani was a previous board chairperson.
Ms Nalini Maharaj is a board member at the Gauteng Gambling Board (GGB), which is now also under scrutiny. If members of the committee were part of the problem, can they be part of the solution?
But Maile already has information on the failings of the GLB. He has received adequate correspondence, a series of court actions, responded to various questions in the House, and hosted meetings where complainants and staff tabled grievances. Is he unable to comprehend the issues with the information he has?
When the committee does get down to business, it will inevitably conclude the following:
The application process is far from transparent.
The much-vaunted online system is useless and costly. Once an application has been made on the system, the entire process thereafter is a manual one.
The administration of the GLB is poorly managed.
The process from beginning to end should take no longer than three months. However, most applications take longer than six months, while some have been outstanding for years.
No one knows the actual size of the backlog. The board says one thing. The administration says another, and the applicants will tell you the full story.
Objectors will advise that the Board does not make it easy to remain vigilant against undesirable liquor outlets.
The GLB has a habit of bringing in arbitrary and unannounced changes.
The GLB has been taken to court more often and has lost almost all the cases.
The policy and legislation are overdue for review as they currently have major loopholes, permit unnecessary obstructions, and create a huge opportunity for bribery.
as they currently have major loopholes, permit unnecessary obstructions, and create a huge opportunity for bribery. Restaurants get licenses, and the owners then sell to others who convert the restaurant into a place of entertainment. These become incredible nuisances.
The GLB website is a joke. Other provinces have websites that are far more informative about applications in process, hearing dates, and approved licenses.
When the committee finalises its report, it will recommend the following actions: Forensic investigations should be conducted in various areas of the GLB's operations and the transactions that arose from these in the past seven years.
The recommendations of the investigators should be implemented.
Management and various members of the board should be replaced.
Business process analysts should be brought in to recommend changes.
There should be immediate changes to the tracking and reporting of GLB work, and these reports should be available publicly in a suitably summarised form.
IT experts should be asked to make recommendations to overhaul the GLB website and the online system.
Various policy amendments should be effected and implemented.
Legislative processes should be initiated to amend the Gauteng Liquor Act and its regulations.
The irony is that all of the above can be kick-started with immediate effect. If this were done, 10 months and R6 million could be saved. There is no logical reason to appoint this committee. Consequence management doesn't happen often enough.
Apart from Maile's need to be seen to be taking action, the only explanation that makes sense is that various connected people, currently profiting from a corrupted system, will be shielded.
Mike Moriarty MPL, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Economic Development
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
IOL News
21 hours ago
- IOL News
The National Dialogue must not be derailed by political gaslighting
AN ANC supporter with an election manifesto poster a election campaign meeting in Promosa, Potchefstroom on January 30, 1994. The democratic breakthrough of 1994 was not just a political event. It delivered the keys of the Republic to those long locked outside the gates of history, says the writer. Image: AFP Zamikhaya Maseti The 15th of August 2025 has been etched into the political calendar as a historic moment, the National Dialogue. At its most aspirational, it is meant to be a nation-defining platform, a civic summit for collective introspection, healing, and democratic recommitment. But even before its formal commencement, this national project risks being engulfed by the shallow political theatrics and elite tantrums that have paralysed genuine nation-building for far too long. Chief among the culprits is the Democratic Alliance (DA), which is now using the recent dismissal of Deputy Minister Andrew Whitfield, a figure occupying neither Cabinet status nor National Executive prominence, as a spark to fuel political hysteria. Let it be clear: this is not statesmanship. It is a political gaslighting strategy, a sophisticated act of deflection designed to distract South Africans from the essential questions we ought to be confronting. This political fracas, if anything, is a sobering reminder. It compels us, the ordinary and long-suffering South Africans, the real stakeholders in the future of this nation, to seize the agenda of the National Dialogue. We dare not allow it to be captured by those who wish to reduce this opportunity into a partisan tug-of-war. It must speak with bold honesty to the crises that are tearing our country limb from limb. South Africa, make no mistake, stands on the precipice of an abyss. What we are facing is not merely policy failure; it is the slow, corrosive disintegration of the national soul. Crime is no longer a statistic; it is a mode of life. Corruption is no longer a scandal; it is an ecosystem. Social cohesion, once the backbone of our fragile reconciliation, is unravelling under the weight of poverty, lawlessness, and deepening racial resentment. The rainbow has dimmed to a monochrome of despair and distrust. We are not yet a failed State. But with each passing day, with each institution that crumbles and each promise betrayed, we edge closer to that dreaded status. What once made South Africa the miracle of the world has now been bludgeoned by mediocrity, political cannibalism, and the fossilisation of revolutionary ideals. The May 29, 2024, General Elections offered perhaps the clearest mirror to our political malaise. Voter apathy was not apolitical. It was a mass indictment, a statement of no confidence in a political system that feels increasingly like an exclusive game played above the heads of the governed. People's faith in democracy is no longer low; it is at the ankles, dragging itself in the dust of betrayal. Therefore, it is not negotiable: the very first item on the agenda of the National Dialogue must be governance. Not in the abstract, but the brutally honest question: How have we been governed since 1994? When did the wheels fall off? At which exact moment did the promise of liberation give way to elite accumulation, State capture, and rudderless bureaucracy? Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad Loading The democratic breakthrough of 1994 was not just a political event; it was a civilizational rupture. It delivered the keys of the Republic to those long locked outside the gates of history. The masses, the historically despised Third Estate, took to the streets in euphoric celebration, believing that their day under the sun had finally arrived. And it did, briefly. But somewhere between Kliptown and the Union Buildings, between The People Shall Govern and parliamentary privilege, the democratic vehicle began to wobble. The tyres of accountability deflated. The engine of ethical leadership began to cough and stall. The Dialogue must, therefore, perform a thorough diagnostic inspection of this vehicle, note every point of mechanical failure, and commit to firm, unapologetic, and irreversible repairs. Among the most urgent repairs is the deconstruction of the neo-patrimonial political culture that has infected our post-1994 polity. This culture, rooted in patronage, personality cults, and informal networks of loyalty, has turned public office into private inheritance and governance into transactional loyalty schemes. It must be dislodged root and branch if democracy is to breathe again. But systemic repair is not merely the work of the elite. A return to grassroots democracy is indispensable. The people, the ones who queued in '94 with trembling hope, must be brought back to the centre of governance, not as passive spectators but as active architects. Civil society, social movements, religious bodies, worker organisations, youth formations, these are not side actors; they are the real Parliament of the People. We must then reimagine citizenship, not as periodic voting, but as perpetual participation. The strengthening of civic institutions and the rebirth of an active citizenry is the only credible antidote to elite capture and democratic decay. Ultimately, the National Dialogue must restore the central promise uttered boldly 70 years ago in Kliptown: 'The People Shall Govern.' That is not a slogan. It is a covenant. And covenants, once broken, demand not just apologies but repair, repentance, and recommitment. Let us, therefore, put back the wheels that fell off the democratic vehicle. Let us take the Dialogue back from political actors playing hide-and-seek with our future. Let us, the people, write the next chapter of our nation, not with ink, but with intention. For if we do not steer the vehicle back onto the road, history will not be kind. And we will have no one to blame but ourselves. * Zamikhaya Maseti is a Political Economy Analyst with a Magister Philosophiae (M. PHIL) in South African Politics and Political Economy from the University of Port Elizabeth (UPE), now known as the Nelson Mandela University (NMU). ** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL, Independent Media or The African.
The Star
a day ago
- The Star
GLB commission of inquiry into corruption is just for show, while solutions are readily available
Mike Moriarty | Published 56 minutes ago The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng is not fooled by the Committee of Inquiry set up by the Gauteng MEC for Economic Development, Lebogang Maile, into the affairs of the Gauteng Liquor Board (GLB). Maile established this committee to obscure evident corruption that has escalated within the GLB for many years. The sins of the GLB are obvious, and the solution is readily available. GLB's incompetence can be addressed through retooling its business processes. Its corruption can be purged through forensic investigation and ruthless prosecution of those guilty. On Sunday, 15 June 2025, MEC Maile announced the appointment of a 15-member committee of inquiry to investigate the affairs of the Gauteng Liquor Board (GLB). This committee has been tasked with probing allegations of corruption, bribery, and the long processing times for liquor licenses within the board. He also announced the dismissal of five GLB personnel. However, it is understood that these dismissals took place long before the announcement was made. In truth, the GLB is a small portion of what the Gauteng Provincial Government does. Its budget of R80 million is tiny compared to the overall budget of R1.6 billion in Maile's Department of Economic Development. This represents 5% of the department and is a minuscule portion, 0.046%, of the total provincial budget. Maile's actions are like trying to fasten a button with a sledgehammer. These committees are expensive, and previous ones have taken an unreasonably long time to achieve anything. Just like Makhura's e-tolls committee, and the committee that was headed by Trevor Fowler to look into the state of municipalities. These inquiries have a tendency of essentially achieve nothing at all. This committee is likely to take 10 months to do its work at an estimated cost of R6 million. If the solution is so simple, why has Maile set up this committee? He is merely trying to have the appearance of acting decisively. The MEC's move is fatally flawed for four reasons: Firstly, during the length of time it takes to do its work, the stealing within GLB will continue. Secondly, the exercise will cost a lot of money. Thirdly, the committee will be buried in an avalanche of complaints, allegations, and documents, while the real nuggets are hidden. Perhaps this is what Maile wants. Not all the perpetrators are his enemies. Any friends that he exposes could turn on him and his allies. Finally, the eventual report will cover so much ground that the real priorities will be difficult to identify. No sooner had the committee been identified than allegations emerged that various committee members are tainted in one way or another. One may validly query whether it is wise to appoint previous employees of the GLB, such as Mpho Mosing and Jennifer Rankeng. Fhedzisani Pandelani was a previous board chairperson. Ms Nalini Maharaj is a board member at the Gauteng Gambling Board (GGB), which is now also under scrutiny. If members of the committee were part of the problem, can they be part of the solution? But Maile already has information on the failings of the GLB. He has received adequate correspondence, a series of court actions, responded to various questions in the House, and hosted meetings where complainants and staff tabled grievances. Is he unable to comprehend the issues with the information he has? When the committee does get down to business, it will inevitably conclude the following: The application process is far from transparent. The much-vaunted online system is useless and costly. Once an application has been made on the system, the entire process thereafter is a manual one. The administration of the GLB is poorly managed. The process from beginning to end should take no longer than three months. However, most applications take longer than six months, while some have been outstanding for years. No one knows the actual size of the backlog. The board says one thing. The administration says another, and the applicants will tell you the full story. Objectors will advise that the Board does not make it easy to remain vigilant against undesirable liquor outlets. The GLB has a habit of bringing in arbitrary and unannounced changes. The GLB has been taken to court more often and has lost almost all the cases. The policy and legislation are overdue for review as they currently have major loopholes, permit unnecessary obstructions, and create a huge opportunity for bribery. as they currently have major loopholes, permit unnecessary obstructions, and create a huge opportunity for bribery. Restaurants get licenses, and the owners then sell to others who convert the restaurant into a place of entertainment. These become incredible nuisances. The GLB website is a joke. Other provinces have websites that are far more informative about applications in process, hearing dates, and approved licenses. When the committee finalises its report, it will recommend the following actions: Forensic investigations should be conducted in various areas of the GLB's operations and the transactions that arose from these in the past seven years. The recommendations of the investigators should be implemented. Management and various members of the board should be replaced. Business process analysts should be brought in to recommend changes. There should be immediate changes to the tracking and reporting of GLB work, and these reports should be available publicly in a suitably summarised form. IT experts should be asked to make recommendations to overhaul the GLB website and the online system. Various policy amendments should be effected and implemented. Legislative processes should be initiated to amend the Gauteng Liquor Act and its regulations. The irony is that all of the above can be kick-started with immediate effect. If this were done, 10 months and R6 million could be saved. There is no logical reason to appoint this committee. Consequence management doesn't happen often enough. Apart from Maile's need to be seen to be taking action, the only explanation that makes sense is that various connected people, currently profiting from a corrupted system, will be shielded. Mike Moriarty MPL, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Economic Development
IOL News
a day ago
- IOL News
GLB commission of inquiry into corruption is just for show, while solutions are readily available
The sins of the Gauteng Liquor Board (GLB) are obvious, and the solution is readily available, says the writer. Image: Supplied The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng is not fooled by the Committee of Inquiry set up by the Gauteng MEC for Economic Development, Lebogang Maile, into the affairs of the Gauteng Liquor Board (GLB). Maile established this committee to obscure evident corruption that has escalated within the GLB for many years. The sins of the GLB are obvious, and the solution is readily available. GLB's incompetence can be addressed through retooling its business processes. Its corruption can be purged through forensic investigation and ruthless prosecution of those guilty. On Sunday, 15 June 2025, MEC Maile announced the appointment of a 15-member committee of inquiry to investigate the affairs of the Gauteng Liquor Board (GLB). This committee has been tasked with probing allegations of corruption, bribery, and the long processing times for liquor licenses within the board. He also announced the dismissal of five GLB personnel. However, it is understood that these dismissals took place long before the announcement was made. In truth, the GLB is a small portion of what the Gauteng Provincial Government does. Its budget of R80 million is tiny compared to the overall budget of R1.6 billion in Maile's Department of Economic Development. This represents 5% of the department and is a minuscule portion, 0.046%, of the total provincial budget. Maile's actions are like trying to fasten a button with a sledgehammer. These committees are expensive, and previous ones have taken an unreasonably long time to achieve anything. Just like Makhura's e-tolls committee, and the committee that was headed by Trevor Fowler to look into the state of municipalities. These inquiries have a tendency of essentially achieve nothing at all. This committee is likely to take 10 months to do its work at an estimated cost of R6 million. If the solution is so simple, why has Maile set up this committee? He is merely trying to have the appearance of acting decisively. The MEC's move is fatally flawed for four reasons: Firstly, during the length of time it takes to do its work, the stealing within GLB will continue. Secondly, the exercise will cost a lot of money. Thirdly, the committee will be buried in an avalanche of complaints, allegations, and documents, while the real nuggets are hidden. Perhaps this is what Maile wants. Not all the perpetrators are his enemies. Any friends that he exposes could turn on him and his allies. Finally, the eventual report will cover so much ground that the real priorities will be difficult to identify. No sooner had the committee been identified than allegations emerged that various committee members are tainted in one way or another. One may validly query whether it is wise to appoint previous employees of the GLB, such as Mpho Mosing and Jennifer Rankeng. Fhedzisani Pandelani was a previous board chairperson. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading Ms Nalini Maharaj is a board member at the Gauteng Gambling Board (GGB), which is now also under scrutiny. If members of the committee were part of the problem, can they be part of the solution? But Maile already has information on the failings of the GLB. He has received adequate correspondence, a series of court actions, responded to various questions in the House, and hosted meetings where complainants and staff tabled grievances. Is he unable to comprehend the issues with the information he has? When the committee does get down to business, it will inevitably conclude the following: The application process is far from transparent. The much-vaunted online system is useless and costly. Once an application has been made on the system, the entire process thereafter is a manual one. The administration of the GLB is poorly managed. The process from beginning to end should take no longer than three months. However, most applications take longer than six months, while some have been outstanding for years. No one knows the actual size of the backlog. The board says one thing. The administration says another, and the applicants will tell you the full story. Objectors will advise that the Board does not make it easy to remain vigilant against undesirable liquor outlets. The GLB has a habit of bringing in arbitrary and unannounced changes. The GLB has been taken to court more often and has lost almost all the cases. The policy and legislation are overdue for review as they currently have major loopholes, permit unnecessary obstructions, and create a huge opportunity for bribery. as they currently have major loopholes, permit unnecessary obstructions, and create a huge opportunity for bribery. Restaurants get licenses, and the owners then sell to others who convert the restaurant into a place of entertainment. These become incredible nuisances. The GLB website is a joke. Other provinces have websites that are far more informative about applications in process, hearing dates, and approved licenses. When the committee finalises its report, it will recommend the following actions: Forensic investigations should be conducted in various areas of the GLB's operations and the transactions that arose from these in the past seven years. The recommendations of the investigators should be implemented. Management and various members of the board should be replaced. Business process analysts should be brought in to recommend changes. There should be immediate changes to the tracking and reporting of GLB work, and these reports should be available publicly in a suitably summarised form. IT experts should be asked to make recommendations to overhaul the GLB website and the online system. Various policy amendments should be effected and implemented. Legislative processes should be initiated to amend the Gauteng Liquor Act and its regulations. The irony is that all of the above can be kick-started with immediate effect. If this were done, 10 months and R6 million could be saved. There is no logical reason to appoint this committee. Consequence management doesn't happen often enough. Apart from Maile's need to be seen to be taking action, the only explanation that makes sense is that various connected people, currently profiting from a corrupted system, will be shielded. Mike Moriarty MPL, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Economic Development
