Babalo Ndenze15 August 2024 | 4:36

MPs assured that SOE holding company board will be led by competent people

MPs in the planning, monitoring and evaluation committee on Wednesday questioned the objective of forming a major state-owned holding company to control all SOEs.

MPs assured that SOE holding company board will be led by competent people

Picture: @ParliamentofRSA/X

CAPE TOWN - The Presidency has assured MPs that the board of the country’s SOE holding company will be led by competent people, appointed on merit.

The Presidency also said that state capture commission recommendations had been taken into consideration in the proposed legislation, that will see one holding company to control the country’s major SOEs.

MPs in the portfolio committee on planning, monitoring and evaluation on Wednesday took part in a workshop on SOEs and the National State Enterprises Bill.

MPs in the planning, monitoring and evaluation committee on Wednesday questioned the objective of forming a major state-owned holding company to control all SOEs.

The Democratic Alliance (DA)'s Kate Christie questioned officials on how the bill would guarantee that the boards of SOEs would be merit-based appointments and not cadre deployment.

"Meritocracy, will they be qualified, will they be experienced, will they be competent and will we be avoiding our history of appointing cadres who are loyal to party policies?"

But deputy Director-General Melanchton Makobe said that the National State Enterprises Bill would ensure that.

"With this bill, we are actually legislating the calibre of board members we should be appointing to our boards."

The SOE bill will be back before the National Assembly once the next term of Parliament kicks off in a few weeks.