Clash of ideologies expected over SOEs at GNU Cabinet lekgotla

JOHANNESBURG - As the Government of National Unity (GNU) meets for its first-ever Cabinet lekgotla, some parties believe the country’s poor-performing state-owned assets should be taken off the government’s books.

This weekend, the ten parties in the GNU will meet for a strategy session geared towards formulating a policy agenda for the seventh democratic administration.

A clash of political ideologies is expected when it comes to what government must do with some of its state-owned entities (SOEs).

The Department of Public Enterprises may have been dissolved however, the state-owned entities remain.

SOEs like Denel, the South African Post Office, South African Airways and Eskom have been bleeding money from the government, requiring one bailout after another.

There are parties in the GNU who believe the government should have no business in the aviation and arms manufacturing sectors.

There is also a thought process of partial privatisation of the Post Office and Eskom, to ease the government’s financial burden.

However, the GNU statement of intent stipulates that 60% consensus must be reached before any adoption of policy.