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Presidential reply reveals the details concerning the mandate and remuneration of the SOE review committee have still not been decided
The President's response seems to confirm that the ANC government has no intention of actually conducting such a review
The DA will be writing to the President and the Minister of Public Enterprises for a full explanation





In response to a DA parliamentary question, the President has today confirmed that a decision has yet to be made about the terms of reference of the committee established to review the country's ailing State Owned Enterprises (SOEs). The President first announced the review 143 days ago. In addition, details concerning the remuneration of committee members have yet to be finalized. The President's vague response constitutes yet further proof that the Zuma administration is entirely uncommitted to this undertaking, which now appears to be yet another example of smoke and mirrors, and places talk above actual outcomes.

A copy of the DA's question, and the President's response, follows below. 

One would have thought, and it is entirely reasonable to expect, that before announcing something as fundamental as a review, some thought would have gone into the structure of that review, its mandate, purpose and desired outcome. But the shambolic nature of the idea's implementation suggests rather that it was nothing more than a spontaneous thought that popped into the President's head, a spur of the moment impulse that was ill-considered and not properly conceived. And what we are now watching unfold are the consequences of that confusion.

The Zuma administration has thus far failed to develop a coherent strategy to address the poorly-performing "money pits" that the country's SOEs have become. Despite going to the very heart of the way that our economy is managed and its relationship to the state, not even a sentence was dedicated to the issue in the President's State of the Nation address earlier this year. 

President Zuma first announced the government's intention to conduct a review of the country's SOES almost as an aside, in a subsequent interview with the Sunday Times, and has since displayed increasing reluctance to follow through on this commitment. This is an administration which is big on announcements, but poor on delivery. 

The President's growing uneasiness in his position is evident in the indecision he has displayed on this critical issue. Having put forward an initial plan to establish two concurrent review teams- an independent committee and an interministerial committee chaired by Public Enterprises Minister Barbara Hogan and Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan- the President later did an about-turn and announced that only the independent team would conduct the review. 

It now seems clear that the ANC government had no intention of carrying out any form of review and that the President has misled the public in this regard. 

President Zuma's handling of this matter speaks to the broader problems in government concerning economic policy more generally. Paralysed by the conflicting interests of the tripartite alliance and the various camps which brought President Zuma to power, the Zuma administration has been rendered incapable of making any firm decisions about the country's economic strategy. 

A carefully thought through and clearly articulated economic policy is critical if the country is to tackle pressing problems such as poverty and unemployment. Tough decisions need to be made and President Zuma must take the lead in this regard. However, it appears that under his leadership, the state is a captainless ship. With the skipper having abdicated responsibility and his crew squabbling in the barracks, it is now unclear who is at the helm in what are increasingly treacherous waters. 

I will be writing to the President and the Minister of Public Enterprises for a full explanation regarding the government's apparent failure to fulfill its commitment to conduct the SOE review.