Cape Town – Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan says he won’t resign despite facing criticism from political parties in Parliament, including the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and the Democratic Alliance (DA).
Gordhan was accused of undermining State-Owned Entities (SOEs) and blamed for their poor performance.
They claimed that the poor performance of Eskom, Transnet, and other State-Owned Entities (SOEs) was a result of his involvement.
But, according to IOL, he defended his position, saying that he would complete his term and take responsibility for addressing the issues.
“No. I am not going anywhere until the end of this term. Secondly, I accept responsibility. That is why we are changing boards when it’s appropriate. Boards are saying to the executives, ‘go if you can’t perform’ because the level of performance that we are seeing is not good for the country, not good for the entity, and not good for the individuals concerned. We act where it is necessary,” Gordhan told Parliament, during question time with ministers in the economics cluster on Wednesday.
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His appearance at the legislature came after the resignation of SOE directors including Eskom chair Mpho Makwana, former Transnet Group CEO Portia Derby and former Transnet Freight Rail CEO Siza Mzimela.
According to Times Live, Gordhan said he was not alienating directors of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and that he supported them in their efforts to turn around troubled SOEs.
Gordhan said that the government’s role was to hold board members accountable, and the boards had a responsibility to implement turnaround strategies and manage projects effectively.
He acknowledged the challenges facing SOEs, such as load-shedding at Eskom and logistics constraints at Transnet, and stressed the importance of addressing these issues.
In response to concerns about retaining professionals with the required skills in SOEs, Gordhan said that the government was working to attract professionals who had left South African SOEs to work abroad and create an environment that prevents bribery.
He also announced that Eskom would have a new CEO by the end of the year and that Transnet was implementing a turnaround plan to address its declining performance.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
