President Jacob Zuma is set to directly oversee the strategic decisions of any state-owned companies (SOCs) as work commences on the creation of the Presidential State Owned Companies (SOCs) Coordinating Council.
Minister in the Presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Jeff Radebe, briefed the media yesterday afternoon following the conclusion of the four-day Cabinet Lekgotla.
“The Presidential SOCs Coordinating Council will provide president Zuma a line of sight on strategic decisions and interventions to create SOCs that play a transformative role in a capable developmental state,” said Radebe.
He pointed out that the aim was to create a coordinating council that was similar to the Infrastructure Coordinating Commission that is currently chaired by Zuma because of “the very important role that SOCs play in the economic development of South Africa”.
According to Radebe, cabinet noted that the implementation of the stabilisation programme at SOCs had progressed with varying degrees. “The strengthening of leadership to execute the turnaround strategies remains critical,” he said.
A BDLive report commented that the decision to place Zuma at the apex of decision-making was “noteworthy”, as there had been significant tension within the government over state-owned companies, particularly between South African Airways (SAA) and Denel, and the Treasury.
An article by the Daily Maverick pointed out that this decision effectively meant Zuma was taking over from his deputy, Cyril Ramaphosa, who had chaired the SOE (state-owned enterprises) inter-ministerial committee for the past two years.
