President Cyril Ramaphosa has transferred the executive shareholder powers of crucial state-owned entities from the dissolved public enterprises department to their respective line functions.
Monitoring and evaluation minister Maropene Ramokgopa has been assigned the responsibility of finalising the National State Enterprises Bill, which was recently re-introduced before parliament. The legislation aims to restructure state-owned enterprises (SOEs) into a single shareholding company where the state will be the sole shareholder of the asset management company, but the door is open for strategic equity partners to be brought into the underlying SOEs.
In the interim, the department of public enterprises will continue to exist under the stewardship of Ramokgopa “until the human and financial resources are transferred appropriately. This appointment empowers the minister to exercise power with respect to the department of public enterprises, all relevant powers and functions under the Public Service Act of 1994 and the Public Finance Management Act of 1999,” the presidency said in a statement.
This follows Ramaphosa’s dissolution of the public enterprises department, which was responsible for five SOEs in its portfolio, and the formation of the government of national unity (GNU) following the May 29 general elections.
The transport minister, Barbra Creecy is now the executive shareholder of two state-owned airlines, SAA and SA Express, as well as state logistics company Transnet.
Electricity and energy minister Kgosientso Ramokgopa is responsible for power utility Eskom while state-owned arms company Denel has been moved to the defence and military veterans ministry, led by Angie Motshekga.
The state-owned SA Forestry Company (Safcol) has been moved to the department of the environment, forestry and fisheries, led by Dion George. Minerals and petroleum resources minister Gwede Mantashe is now responsible of state diamond miner Alexkor.
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