Public Enterprises (DPE) Minister Pravin Gordhan has lambasted corrupt criminal activities that displace the real purpose of state-owned entities (SOEs), like Eskom and Transnet, to contribute to the economic growth of the country.
Delivering his department's budget vote speech in Parliament on Tuesday, Gordhan said there was no place for corruption in government entities.
"As a government, our fundamental responsibility is to create an enabling environment where the dreams of our people are not held hostage by selfish interests driven by greed, cynicism, and saboteurs, involving treasonous acts on our infrastructure and pillaging of state resources," Gordhan said.
He said the government's socio-economic transformation agenda is predicated on the urgent need to deliver social justice and uphold the Constitution.
"SOEs play a vital role in creating and enhancing the economic and social well-being of all South Africans.
“This reality underpins our work to revitalise our SOEs and reclaim them from criminals and the beneficiaries of state capture, whose treasonous acts mean that Eskom cannot deliver a safe and reliable electricity supply."
Gordhan emphasised that Eskom and Transnet, in particular, are critical for the pace at which the country can grow.
"The network industries – energy (electricity) and the logistics sector – are key to South Africa's ability for faster and a more inclusive way to generate economic growth.
“Our people need a reliable supply of electricity to run their small businesses, light up their streets, and for their children to learn," Gordhan said.
"Our people need reliable trains to get to work. Our miners and farmers need efficient ports to export their produce and remain competitive.
“There is an urgent need to overhaul our rail, ports, and logistics infrastructure to cut the cost of doing business, create more jobs, and boost business confidence," he said.
Gordhan said the government is embarking on plans to improve the performance of SOEs through reforms.
"The reform of our SOEs and our broader society and economy is imperative. The National Development Plan (NDP 2030) suggests that the significant SOEs need a clear public interest mandate and straightforward governance structures, enabling them to balance and reconcile their economic and social objectives," he said.
"For the large SOEs involved in economic infrastructure provision, their mandate should include the imperative of financial viability and sustaining their asset base and balance sheet to maintain and expand services."
"We now know that SOEs' finances (balance sheets), operations, governance, culture, and skills base have been compromised [by state capture].”
As a result, SOEs required reform, he said.
“South Africa is a middle-income country. It finds itself in a middle-income trap where it cannot transit to higher levels of economic development unless we do things differently.” – SAnews.gov.za
