16 August 2001
The Department of Public Enterprises wishes to record that it has received the Memorandum from Cosatu to the DPE at 12 noon today, Thursday 16 August 2001.
Government, and the DPE as a constituent element of government, shares the concerns of Cosatu and workers everywhere about employment, job losses, and the need to ensure that sustainable development takes root in South Africa. The poor, the rural masses, particularly black women and the elderly, dominate the ranks of the unemployed and those without skills. Government believes that the skewed development that took place in our country under and during apartheid is responsible for the grave social problems facing our country. Government draws its policy from the inspiration of the ANC, and its policy on restructuring is in line with the policy formulations of the ANC and arose from discussions within the Alliance as well as with other stakeholders.
As such, restructuring aims to achieve a number of aims, including the creation of state entities that can carry out their social and economic development tasks better and quicker, providing services and utilities that are affordable, adequate and suited to the needs of the majority of our people. At the same time, we do not have a single-minded approach to restructuring, following only one path towards our goals. Thus, the DPE has coordinated initiatives that have led to the establishment of new state entities, such as Arivia.kom, have involved workers and communities, like Safcol. Where workers face unemployment as a result of restructuring, and even in those instances where workers will require new training, the DPE has engaged successfully with Cosatu affiliates and other unions to ensure that job losses are kept to a minimum and that safety nets are as tight as possible.
The Department of Public Enterprises is an instrument of government, and carries out government policy. As such, it takes its mandate from decisions of the national Cabinet. The DPE is aware that the ANC, Cosatu and the SACP are engaged in continuing discussions concerning a range of issues, including perceived disagreements within the Alliance around the restructuring of state-owned enterprises. As these discussions are as yet incomplete, and as the mandate of the Department has not altered in any way, it would be irresponsible for the Department to act unilaterally in response to the demands listed by Cosatu.
As we understand it, our mandate is not to sell of the family silver, rather our task is to polish it and make it something we can all be proud of. The DPE is confident that we will be able to implement efficiently and effectively any mandate that is passed on to us by Cabinet.
For More information please contact:
Sol Masolo 082 903 2423 Office: (012) 431 1072
Sivi Gounden (012) 431 1084