Zuma: State firm probe continues

Johannesburg - The two review processes into state owned enterprises (SOE) will complement each other and be "synthesised" into a single report to help Cabinet make policy decisions, the presidency said on Monday.

Harold Maloka, spokesperson for Collins Chabane, Minister in the Presidency said the two reviews would run parallel to each other.

A review of the SOEs, run by Public Enterprises Minister Barbara Hogan and Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan was set up by Cabinet, while President Jacob Zuma set up his own non-governmental review committee, headed by former Absa corporate affairs executive Mangwashi Phiyega in March.

Newspaper reports on Monday said Hogan and Gordhan's review had been halted by the presidency, until the presidential review has been completed.

However, Chabane said Zuma had decided to set up a two-pronged review of SOEs after the Medium Term Strategic Framework for 2009 to 2014 stated there was a need for a review on SOEs as part of the economic transformation agenda.

Struggling SOEs had come under fire recently and had been a hot topic in the ANC-led tripartite alliance. The ANC's allies had been critical of the running of the SOEs, especially about the composition of their boards and their serving of business interests, instead of serving the country's development needs.

Maloka said the two-pronged review was initiated to "take the process forward".

"The Inter-Ministerial Committee co-chaired by Ministers Barbara Hogan and Pravin Gordhan (was set up) to conduct an internal government review of SOEs and among others determine how government can strengthen alignment between its development objectives and the strategic role to be played by SOEs in the economy," said Maloka.

"The president further appointed a Presidential SOE Review Committee chaired by Ms Mangwashi Phiyega to among others review the current governance arrangements relating to SOEs and undertake an audit of current practices regarding planning and decision making with SOEs as well as between SOEs and government."

He said the non-governmental committee would also undertake an assessment of the role SOEs had played in supporting government’s development objectives and make recommendations on how this can be improved.

"The two complementary streams of work will be overseen and co-ordinated by the presidency and the two reports will be synthesised into a final report that will serve in Cabinet before recommendations are adopted and implemented as government policy."

- Sapa