South Africa’s richest province spent R119 million on an e-panic button programme that only distributed 2,000 devices which cost R908.50 each

Gauteng's R119 million e-panic button programme, intended to provide 500,000 devices to residents, ultimately distributed only 2,000 units, with each costing R908.50. Budget constraints and a revised target of 2,000 devices led to a drastic reduction in the programme's scope, sparking criticism from Gauteng Legislature member Michael Waters, who is now calling for the Gauteng Premier and MEC to explain the discrepancies.