Gordhan must show that he really is serious about turning public enterprises around by stepping in to help pensioners
16 May 2018
Last year, the FF Plus likened the Department of Public Enterprises to a school of piranhas stripping their prey’s flesh from its bones.
In the past, state capturers acted with impunity and did not go to much trouble to hide what they were busy doing. Now, however, they are running for the hills. The new Minister of Public Enterprises, Pravin Gorhan, deserves all the credit for this.
The FF Plus must still bring further examples of state capture and other problems to the Minister’s attention so that appropriate action can be taken. It concerns Transnet and Eskom as well as the pensioners affected by these two entities.
Firstly, Eskom: Given Eskom’s high levels of debt and the number of bonds that have already been issued, the Minister must ensure that the Government Employee Pension Fund (GEPF) is shielded from Eskom. At present, Eskom is a sub-investment grade entity and pensioners’ money cannot be used to bail out the electricity supplier.