President cracks whip on SOEs
Plans to unbundle troubled Eskom revealed
PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa has announced major changes in fixing state-owned entities and confirmed the unbundling of Eskom.
The president also said national elections would be held on May 8.
Ramaphosa, in his State of the Nation Address last night, also hinted that the government would carry Eskom’s R100 billion debt after its request last year. This would see its debt coming down from R419bn.
This is in line with the recommendations of the task team set up by Ramaphosa late last year. Eskom has remained a huge risk to the economy.
“To bring credibility to the turnaround and to position South Africa’s power sector for the future, we shall immediately embark on a process of establishing three separate entities, generation, transmission and distribution, under Eskom Holdings,” he said.
He also spoke about fixing security agencies, saying they were the key in fighting corruption and state capture. The president said the committee chaired by former cabinet minister Sydney Mufamadi to restructure the State Security Agency had made recommendations.
Ramaphosa said he would re-establish the foreign and domestic branches of the intelligence agencies.
He will chair the revived National Security Council to ensure proper co-ordination at all levels of intelligence services.
Despite taking a tough stance on state capture, Ramaphosa did not say a word about Bosasa.
The EFF and DA have been pushing for him to come clean on the R500 000 donated to him by Bosasa for his campaign to lead the ANC. The EFF did not carry out its earlier threats of disruption on the Bosasa matter.
However, Ramaphosa has seen Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane on the Bosasa matter.
Mkhwebane confirmed to the media that she would release a report on Bosasa in the next two to three months, and said she was still going to interview more people and get more evidence.
But Ramaphosa said the evidence from the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into state capture was disturbing.
“To this end we have agreed with the national director of public prosecutions (NDPP) that there is an urgent need to establish in the office of the NDPP an investigating directorate dealing with serious corruption and associated offences.”
Ramaphosa said a new directorate would be established soon. New National Prosecuting Authority head Shamila Batohi said the new unit would be established as a matter of priority.
Ramaphosa also told Parliament they would soon table a bill on national health insurance (NHI).
He said he wanted more investment in the country. The president has been pushing to raise $100 billion (R1.3 trillion).
He said he aimed to grow the economy and create more jobs.
Ramaphosa also said he would fast-track land reform. He said the government would support the work done in the matter of expropriation of land without compensation.
This week Parliament released the names of MPs to serve on the ad hoc committee to draft a bill to amend section 25 of the Constitution.
I’M INTRIGUED by the future envisaged by our weekly technology columnist Bilal Kathrada. Really, it’s astounding the rate at which we are advancing and adapting to our relationship with technology.
Jobs exist today that didn’t four or five years ago, and are likely to disappear within the next five years. Such is the disruptive nature of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
I share the concern expressed by many a columnist published in this newspaper: Are we creating an environment of learning for our young people which will enable them to be as adaptive to the everchanging demands this revolution has to offer, as it itself is changing?
I was encouraged to hear President Cyril Ramaphosa speak about the creation of “township digital hubs” which are expected to “provide most needed entrepreneurial service to small and medium enterprises in the rural areas and townships but more especially to young people who want to start their businesses”.
This is great news. He continues: “Our greatest challenge is to create jobs for the unemployed of today, while preparing workers for the jobs of tomorrow.”
All good and well. But this must be matched with a complete overhaul of our education system as well. Our children are incredibly adaptive to, and adoptive of, new technologies. Their academic life should match this.
Addressing inequality will also help us adapt to this ever-changing environment. How can we be teaching children about augmented reality and artificial intelligence on smart whiteboards in some areas, while in others, children are doing their ablutions in archaic pit latrines?
How can we be highlighting the need for our children to understand coding, when there are thousands of girls missing school because they can’t afford sanitary towels?
Our digital future is here, but as far as we have come in adapting to the new industrial revolution, we are hamstrung by failures to provide basic human rights – the right to dignity chief among those failures in many rural areas.
On our road to this bright future, we dare not leave anyone behind.