Akani Nkuna
THE EFF has welcomed the move by President Cyril Ramaphosa to realign state owned enterprises which previously fell under the Department of Public Enterprises to appropriate government department.
EFF spokesperson Leigh-Ann Mathys said on Tuesday the move to relocate these state-owned-enterprises to respective departments should be loaded.
However, Mathys said it was concerning that the entities were centralized in the Presidency and this could direct the realignment towards a much more sinister purpose such as privatization.
“When we called for the closure of the DPE and the relocation of these SOEs to line departments, we were not advocating for privatization. We were calling for the alignment of SOEs so that they are able to fulfill their function as extensions of departments and remain fully state-owned,” she said.
She added that the former governing party was responsible for the total collapse of the entities since it came to in 1994 which also led to industrial-scale looting of state-owned-enterprises.
She said since the ANC came to power three decades ago, it remained clueless both in plans and policies to lead these strategic instruments and revive industrialization in the country.
“[SOEs in post-apartheid South Africa led by ANC] were neglected, allowed to deteriorate, subjected to parasitic corruption … and sabotaged by the very same department that was meant to play an oversight role.
“Lastly, we call on all departments that will now have influence on 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 industrialization and the economic future of South Africa, as these entities are major buyers of many goods
and services in the economy,” she said.
The EFF is the second party to give the move a thumbs-up. Also, on Tuesday soon after the announcement, the DA, a key partner of the ANC in the “Government of National Unity”, came out to endorse the realignment.
Following the announcement by spokesperson in the presidency Vincent Magwenya, DA came out to endorse the decision by Ramaphosa to sign the proclamation realigning SOEs with their respective departments.
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
The President has signed a proclamation appointing the Minister in the Presidency responsible for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation 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 appropriately.
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