SOE Bill must be withdrawn to prevent a return of State Capture

19 November 2024

The National State Enterprises Bill is being pushed through Parliament by the ANC, and if they succeed, it will allow a return to state capture of state-owned companies through a singular holding company that controls them all.

While the President recently signed a proclamation returning state-owned enterprises to relevant ministries, the ANC remains hellbent on bulldozing this Bill through Parliament. Under the President’s proclamation, the Department of Public Enterprises was disbanded by moving all state-owned enterprises to departments fitting their function, and this was a move in the right direction.

It has been widely reported that after a visit to China, Minister of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Minister Ramakgopa, has been shown the weakness in the current proposed plan and shown other remedies to avoid a disaster. But the Minister is not budging.

Questions remain on why the Minister remains focused on a centralised model, putting all state entities into one unwieldy company, while disregarding other decentralised or hybrid models.

The DA will continue in Parliament to push against the National State Enterprises Bill. The DA’s position is that South Africa’s circumstances and history demand a strengthening of oversight over SOEs, not hiding them all in a giant state company.

There is also a growing imperative for Government to assess and determine which SOEs remain worthwhile and which we can let go of. Unbundling non-performing SOEs and opening the door to private sector participation are key to ensuring sustainable growth and stable government-owned entities.

Issued by Darren Bergman, DA Spokesperson on Planning, Monitoring & Evaluation, 19 November 2024