Government wants to create centralized SOE model

12 February 2021

President Cyril Ramaphosa, during his State of the Nation Address (SONA) last night, announced the creation of three new agencies, one commission and one council to “fast-track” and “accelerate” the implementation of various pipe dreams and empty promises.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) is of the view that the establishment of these five new state-owned entities (SOE) are nothing short of an attempt by the ANC government to further centralise its current dysfunctional SOE model. The President announced the following SOEs in his address last night:

Water Resources Infrastructure Agency

Land and Agrarian Reform Agency

Border Management Agency

National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council

Presidential Coordinating Commission on Climate Change

These SOEs will bring nothing new to the table. Instead we will be saddled with more talk shops, billions in wasted taxpayer money and additional cadre deployment. South Africa has hundreds of SOEs, many of them are either useless, bankrupt or overlapping in their mandates – we don’t need another five.

The slow progress in land reform in South Africa will not be fixed through the Land and Agrarian Reform Agency. The Border Management Agency will not stop the dysfunction at our borders or prevent illegal immigration. Nor will the National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council stop the looting sprees we have observed across government over the past two decades.

The ANC is at the root of the slow implementation of reforms and adding another layer of bureaucratic meddling in an already dysfunctional SOE model will only worsen these challenges. What is needed is a thorough review of these zombie enterprises and a wholesale rationalisation with appropriate sell offs where required. SA Inc cannot afford more of this madness - we are already at the very edge of the fiscal cliff.

Issued by Ghaleb Cachalia, DA Shadow Minister of Public Enterprises, 12 February 2021