Follow MultiChoice model

Phuthuma Nathi represents 20% of the MultiChoice Group pay-TV enterprise held by 90,000 broad-based black empowerment shareholders. The empowerment scheme has been a model success story over many years, with shares bought for R10 having fetched up to R180 since inception and paying an annual dividend of 14% on its current price of R138 — a wonderful investment for retirement.

Now that business and Cosatu are talking to each other again, the time seems ripe for business and labour collectively to demand that the government privatises selected state-owned enterprises, starting with Eskom, to free the powerhouse of Africa from capture.

Regarding broad-based black economic empowerment, the Phuthuma Nathi model could be adopted. The former state-owned enterprise could be owned 50:50 by business investors and Cosatu’s investors and could be competently administered as a profit-making business. This fits in with government policy of radical economic transformation. Such a move would boost confidence in the economy and send a signal to the president and the Guptas that their disgraceful criminal game is over.

Hundreds of thousands of people would become shareholders in the economy in partnership with business if other state-owned enterprises followed in Eskom’s footsteps.

The Treasury would not know what to do with the windfall. The Reserve Bank could carry on without naive criticism, and Pravin Gordhan could be welcomed back to look after the cash.

Ned Sturgeon Barberton