Kudos for rejecting super presidency
The more than 3,500 people and organisations submitting comments to shape the draft National State Enterprises Bill must be applauded for resisting the urge of some to create a super presidency — indifferent to how badly things can go when a menace occupies Mahlamba Ndlopfu. The initial draft anointed the presidency with vast powers to appoint the board of the mooted State Asset Management Company, which will be a holding company of some of the country’s key but troubled stateowned entities (SOEs), including Eskom, Transnet and Denel.
This department of public enterprises proposal was oblivious to how state capture occurred in SA. Zondo commission evidence showed politicians sponsoring the capture of critical SOEs, with Jacob Zuma pulling the strings. We now know we will not always have a Nelson Mandela in the left wing of the Union Buildings. The revised draft bill published last week limits the presidency’s role in appointing the holding company’s board. A panel chaired by a retired judge will call for nominations and interview board candidates. The panel will have representatives from labour and business and two members of the national executive. It will propose candidates to the shareholder for appointment. This balance must be welcomed.
Institutional investor Futuregrowth raised red flags about “limitless” powers granted to the president in appointing the board and directing activities of the holding company and subsidiary companies. “The presidential role is a political one, and we fail to understand how this action would prevent some of the challenges experienced by many of our SOEs — challenges which, by the government’s own admission, include inappropriate political interference,” Futuregrowth submitted.
No doubt some of SA’s SOEs play a pivotal role in our economy and society. It is in the public interest that they are run well as most of them are funded in the institutional pension fund market.
The department backtracked on the proposal to let the responsible minister appoint an administrator to run the holding company’s affairs merely on suspicion of underperformance. This was at odds with the Companies Act. The revised draft bill now provides for the president to appoint a committee to advise on national strategy guiding the work of the holding company, subject to public consultation and input.
The committee must include three cabinet members, one person appointed by business and one from labour, another new feature showing that when the government engages the public in good faith society’s collective wisdom can improve policy. This gives meaning to the constitutional ideal of a government of the people by the people. Citizens’ interests and needs must be the focus of all political decision-making at all levels. Participatory processes allow exactly for that: they enable citizens to take part in decision-making and to give impulse for change.
We call on South Africans to weigh in on the white paper on citizenship, immigration and refugee protection, published in November so that it represents the aspirations of society.