Statement of the African National Congress on Futuregrowth decision to suspend loans to State Owned Enterprises

1 September 2016

The African National Congress (ANC) has noted the decision by Futuregrowth Asset Management to suspend loans to a number of State Owned Enterprises (SOEs). This decision is said to be a result of concerns the Asset Manager has in relation to governance and decision-making at these institutions. The ANC is concerned by the posture adopted by Futuregrowth. It is our hope that Futuregrowth will engage with the relevant Ministries and parastatals to discuss the concerns they have; and together find a solution in the interest of the economy and country.

The generalization that corporate governance challenges beset Eskom, Transnet, South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL), the Land Bank, Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and the Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA) is erroneous and unfortunate. Where there are challenges, these have been identified and, amongst others, interventions made to strengthen these institutions including the establishment of an Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) chaired by Deputy President of the Republic, Comrade Cyril Ramaphosa, to oversee their stability and reform, with specific focus on their governance frameworks. Accordingly, we believe that Futuregrowth, or other any investor, should await the outcome of these interventions before taking any preemptive stance.

The ANC believes our country’s State Owned Entities are key instruments of our developmental state, playing a critical development role in driving growth and inclusiveness. Our commitment to ensuring they are models of good corporate governance, independence and sound technical capacity is not in doubt. Where necessary, the ANC-led government must not hesitate to comprehensively respond and act on any concerns regarding their governance frameworks and institutional integrity.

Issued by Zizi Kodwa, National Spokesperson, ANC, 1 September 2016