The resignation of former Eskom board chairperson Mpho Makwana has shown that Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan has failed to oversee the proper functioning of key State-Owned Entities.
This is the view of analysts who warned that the crisis in State-Owned Entities was worsening their performance with a weak balance sheet.
Makwana’s departure comes hot on the heels of the resignations of former Transnet CEO Portia Derby and Chief Financial Officer Nonkululeko Dlamini.
Transnet Freight Rail CEO Siza Mzimela also quit the company last week.
The latest saga at Eskom prompted IFP chief whip Narend Singh to write to Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, asking for an urgent debate in Parliament to discuss the crisis in SOEs.
In his letter, Singh said SOEs were threatening economic stability in the country.
He said Eskom and Transnet were in deep financial crisis, with the latter facing collapsing infrastructure.
Prof Sipho Seepe, an independent political analyst, said the situation was getting worse in these SOEs. He said Eskom and Transnet were crucial to the economy, and their collapse would spell a disaster for the country.
“It is common cause that Gordhan, who has presented himself as a paragon of virtue, has been a total failure. This extends to many of those he had appointed to lead the SOEs. The cost to the country is incalculable. The irony is that those individuals who had been maligned in the public space have proven to be better than Gordhan's (people),” said Seepe.
Prof Bonke Dumisa, who is an independent economic analyst, said it was time to hold Gordhan accountable for what was happening in the SOEs.
“We can no longer avoid holding the Minister of Public Enterprises, Mr Pravin Gordhan, fully accountable for all the mess at Eskom and other SOEs under his portfolio. Mpho Makwana has been observed as a level-headed professional who values his professional independence. It thus leaves many unanswered questions about why he has now resigned from Eskom, barely a year after being appointed to the position of Eskom Board Chairperson.
“The mere fact that Eskom issued two different statements on this issue says a lot. The first statement said Mteto Nyathi will be an Eskom interim chairperson. Minutes later, they issued a ‘correction’ where they said Mteto Nyathi would be the new Eskom chairperson. Mr Pravin Gordhan owes South Africa a lot of explanations about the instability associated with SOEs under his portfolio, especially Eskom. What happened between him and Mpho Makwana? Why do we still have no CEO at Eskom? asked Dumisa.
The chairperson of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, Mkhuleko Hlengwa, said the crisis at Eskom must be addressed.
“By indications, all is not well in the state of Eskom if you consider now the latest developments of the departure of the board chairperson. It’s just a lot of instability and back-to-back resignations and departures of senior persons in various streams of the Eskom establishment for me that is indicative of the extent of the problem,” said Hlengwa.
He said they need to address Eskom matters before the committee with urgency. This related to allegations of corruption that were made by former CEO André de Ruyter.
Politics