Gordhan: Incoming administration needs plan to prevent a repeat of state capture

JOHANNESBURG - Outgoing Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan said that the incoming administration needed a foolproof plan to prevent a repeat of state capture.

Gordhan made the call on day two of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) policy conference in Boksburg on Wednesday.
 
State capture has hobbled state-owned enterprises (SOEs), including Eskom and Transnet.
 
Transnet and Eskom, among other SOEs, are battling operational and financial constraints.
 
Although there are some interventions by government, the power utility and logistics company has been described by some analysts as the Achilles heel of the economy.

READ: Eskom, SAA & Transnet lost billions to corruption, bribery in past 5 years - Gordhan

Gordhan said that he was cautiously optimistic about progress made to address challenges at the country’s parastatals.

"If you don't do things the right way, you can get hurt or you won't be as productive as you should be. The same applies to Eskom, Transnet, Prasa, or an SAA," said Gordhan.

But he's warned the crisis will persist if SOEs are treated like cash cows.

"If we don't stop that then we are defeating ourselves and we are going to once again say these institutions are not working," Gordhan said.