Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan reiterated his ministry’s commitment to clean up the boards of State Owned Enterprises.
He has stressed the importance of turning the entities around following allegations of state capture.
Gordhan was speaking on the side-lines of a closed round table discussion on corruption at SOEs organised by the Black Business Council.
Gordhan has stressed the pivotal role State Owned Enterprises play in the economy.
He stressed Eskom’s role in keeping the lights on and Transnet’s role in moving goods in and out of the country.
Gordhan highlighted that SOEs have a liquidity problem.
“Far more importantly, what President [Cyril] Ramaphosa has set out as our objective, which is to clean up the boards, put in effective management teams, stabilise the finances of state owned entities and then begin to effectively turn those businesses around.”
The Black Business Council says it would also like to see more black professionals being considered in new board appointments.
The council also says better governance of SOEs is crucial to reindustrialising the economy and creating employment.
It’s further asked government to procure from black owned businesses and Small Medium Enterprises.
Gordhan has also announced that there’s an SOE governing council on the cards which is expected to regulate governance and procurement issues at SOEs.
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