Political Analyst, Angelo Fick, has emphasized the importance of bailing out state-owned enterprises, saying power utility, Eskom, and the SABC are services required by the public.
This follows Finance Minister, Tito Mboweni’s announcement yesterday, that cash injections for SOE’s such as the SABC, SAA, and Denel – wouldn’t be handed over all at once, but in chunks, as certain conditions are met.
The tabled Appropriations Bill includes provisions for R3.2 billion for the cash-strapped public broadcaster.
Fick says it is important to ensure the functionality of Eskom and the SABC.
“You cannot bail out Eskom in one form, or the other because the economy requires it and the economy will collapse for R58-million people if you don’t have constant electricity supply.”
“The SABC is another important aspect. People think of it as entertainment but there are constitutional provisions that South Africans have the right to be informed. The public broadcaster plays a very important role in particular across its radio stations and so not having that would certainly infringe on people’s constitutional right to information.”
“Then Denel and SAA, those are nice to have, they give jobs to thousands of people but they are not as essential as the previous two. The maladministration there would have to be watched much more closely.”
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