GENERAL

Ramaphosa lauded for placing Eskom and other SOEs in new homes

Political parties have welcomed President Ramaphosa’s decision to sign proclamations aligning state-owned enterprises (SOEs) with their respective departments. 

On Monday, 26 August, President Cyril Ramaphosa assigned shareholder responsibility for each state-owned enterprise that previously fell under the Department of Public Enterprises to the respective line-function Ministries.

ESKOM, TRANSNET, SAA, AND SOEs ALIGNED WITH THEIR RESPECTIVE DEPTS

As per the Presidency, President Ramaphosa has signed proclamations which, in terms of Section 97 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996, transfer the administration, powers and functions entrusted by the specified legislation as follows:

  • Alexkor: Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources
  • Denel: Minister of Defence and Military Veterans
  • Eskom: Minister of Electricity and Energy
  • Safcol: Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment
  • South African Airways: Minister of Transport
  • South African Express: Minister of Transport
  • Transnet: Minister of Transport

In addition, Ramaphosa also signed a proclamation appointing the Minister in the Presidency responsible for Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation has also been assigned the responsibility to finalise the National State Enterprise Bill, which will set out the exercise of shareholder responsibility for respective SOEs which will be transferred in a phased manner into the envisaged national enterprise holding company.

The minister has also been appointed as the executive authority of the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE), which will continue to exist and operate until the human and financial resources are transferred.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) said this move will better position SOEs within the appropriate departments based on their operations and expertise, improving oversight and accountability. 

The party believes this restructuring is crucial, especially given the significant deterioration of our SOEs. It. It will allow for the focused, individualised attention needed to achieve meaningful reform.

“As the Department of Public Enterprises is done away with, future attempts to centralise SOEs will be cumbersome and very irresponsible. Centralization of SOEs laid the groundwork for State Capture and has since emptied our fiscus,” DA Spokesperson on Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation, Darren Bergman, said. 

Although the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) also welcomed the decision, the party said it is concerned that the centralisation of these entities in the Presidency could direct the realignment towards a much more sinister purpose, that of privatisation. 

“When we called for the closure of the DPE and the relocation of these SOEs to line departments, we were not advocating for privatisation. We were calling for the alignment of SOEs so they can fulfil their function as extensions of departments and remain fully state-owned,” the party said. 

The Red Berets also called on line departments that will now influence the policy and strategic plans of these entities to review their operations to ensure that they begin to play a role that will allow the state to direct industrialisation and the economic future of South Africa, as these entities are significant buyers of many goods and services in the economy.

DO YOU SUPPORT RAMAPHOSAS DECISION TO CENTRALISE SOES WITH THEIR RESPECTIVE DEPARRTMENTS?

Let us know by clicking on the comment tab below this article or by emailing info@thesouthafrican.com or sending a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1. You can also follow @TheSAnews on X and The South African on Facebook for the latest news.

Source link

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *