Presidential SOE Coordinating Council arises from Presidential SOE Review Committee and is not a new or sinister creation
25 August 2016
There is nothing sinister or new about the establishment of the Presidential State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Coordinating Council which was announced by Minister in the Presidency, Mr Jeff Radebe, at the conclusion of the Cabinet Lekgotla this week.
The recommendation to establish a SOE Council of Ministers was made by the Presidential Review Committee (PRC) on State Owned Enterprises which was appointed in 2010. The PRC’s recommendations were approved by Cabinet in April 2013 and were released to the public by the late Minister in the Presidency, Mr Collins Chabane.
There has been intense speculation since the announcement this week, with some commentators and journalists suggesting some sinister motives behind the establishment of the Council. Such speculation is baseless and false.
President Jacob Zuma appointed the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC), which is chaired by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, to oversee the implementation of the PRC’s recommendations. In the recently held Cabinet Lekgotla, the IMC recommended that the Presidential SOCs Coordinating Council be established to give effect to the PRC’s recommendation of a SOE Council of Ministers.