The Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises has ‘expressed concern’ about the performance of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), noting that ‘all SOEs are loss-making, with the exception of the South African Forestry Companies Limited’.
This is according to a statement by Parliamentary Communication Services.
The statement said: ‘The committee said the department’s presentation on SOEs painted a dismal picture.’
South Africa has more than 700 SOEs.
The statement quoted committee chairperson Khaya Magaxa as saying that ‘SOEs are rife with governance challenges and financial distress as a result of corruption’.
The statement followed the committee’s receiving a presentation from the Department of Public Enterprises on third-quarter performance for 2019/20.
‘The committee was concerned to hear that all SOEs are loss-making, with the exception of the South African Forestry Companies Limited.
‘The committee heard that Transnet’s overall shareholder compact performance has dwindled from 49% in the first quarter to 41% in the second quarter and 32% in the last quarter of the period under review.’
It said Magaxa regarded the ‘regression at Transnet’ as a matter ‘of concern, as the entity was previously considered more successful’.