By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula says state-owned enterprises (SOEs) have long been a source of national concern and there is an urgent need to solve the crisis.
“We need to move with speed with regards to logistics, freight and load shedding because they are a major economic impediment to the growth of our economy,” said Mbalula.
Speaking mainly in isiXhosa on Monday at the ANC’s local government workshop, Mbalula said Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan “cried” following the secretary-general’s comments at the ANC Women’s League conference over the weekend.
“The minister cried so much that I had to change my stance and even release a statement. That minister even cried to the president, asking why I singled him out. I was even called out by Derek Hanekom, that freelancer,” Mbalula said, speaking to laughs from party members gathered in Boksburg, Gauteng.
Mbalula told recently-concluded ANC Women’s League conference, that the South African Reserve Bank had noted that the country’s rail infrastructure had to be improved for fewer trucks to be on the road and faster economic development. The country’s economy is currently growing at a measly 0.4%.
He said the minister had to move quickly, or he would be “moved [out]” – intimating that Gordhan could face the axe.
Mbalula, as the ANC secretary-general, occupies a position akin to a company chief executive and plays an important role in party deployments.
The ANC released a statement following Mbalula’s rebuke of Gordhan, stating that Gordhan “would not provide answers alone facing our rail transport system”.
In response, Gordhan said there have been many efforts with to improve the operational performance of Transnet and address its shortcomings.
When you are trying to patch together a broken organisation where most of the money was spend illicitly… it takes time, it takes effort, and it takes a lot of courage to move out the wrong people from Transnet, but its now on the right footing… We have the political will to resolve challenges,” he said.
Gordhan said the new Transnet board, which includes chair Andile Sangqu, a former top executive at Anglo American SA, and former vice president of the Minerals Council of South Africa among others, should help addressing its issues.
“With the new board, we will instil a new sense of emergency and those who want to stand in the way of change and increase transparency about the problems that we have will have to be dealt with in a very emphatic kind of way.”
Economic political analyst Moeletsi Mbeki and Dr Dion George, the finance spokesman for the DA waded into the conversation on Newzroom Afrika on Monday morning, with Mbeki alluding to the fact that Mbalula may not have read up on ANC’s past cabinet decision regarding rail.
He said that the government is thoroughly aware of Transnet’s under performance and recalled that, as early as 2003, the South African government had enlisted the aid of the British government to help them manage the country’s rail network.
The British government paid a renowned consulting company Adam Smith International to develop a plan to assist the government.
These advisers had laid out a blueprint for change, which, according to Mbeki, the government chose to ignore. This crucial decision, Mbeki suggests, has led to the current crisis.
George echoes this sentiment, expressing doubt about the government’s willingness or ability to address Transnet’s issues.
He cited the cadre deployment programme as a major problem, accusing the government of appointing officials who lack the necessary expertise to manage SOEs efficiently.
The secretary-general also complained that the ANC is being made a scapegoat for issues affecting municipalities, even where they are not in power.
“Even where we are not in charge, people still look up to the ANC. We are not in charge in Pretoria, but people still blame the ANC. It is the DA that has been in charge there; we have lost power there in the past eight years or so. If there is a problem of water and cholera, they blame the ANC, and they have changed municipal leadership from time to time, mayor after mayor.”