Hive off SOEs, says Wiese

19 August 2016 - 09:57 By Bloomberg

Eskom and SAA would be better managed if they were partially sold to private investors, said Christo Wiese, South Africa's richest man. Selling part of Eskom would increase capacity and "hopefully strengthen corporate governance", Wiese, the billionaire chairman of Steinhoff, said in Cape Town this week."Another enormous albatross around our neck is SAA. The solution is fairly simple."Eskom tariffs have more than quadrupled since 2007, while SAA is dependent on government-guaranteed loans."We've got a lot of extremely low-hanging fruit; if we can just get the political will established," Wiese said. "The corporate governance in a lot of SOEs leavesa lot to be desired."The government had failed to adhere to its own National Development Plan, which seeks to reduce joblessness to 6% by 2030, said Wiese.While the recent municipal elections had left the governing ANC in an "awkward" position, it would probably not lead to more populist policies from the party, Wiese said."Such an almost unexpected development does have implications for business."The business confidence index has started turning up, because people are beginning to understand that no single party in South Africa will rule forever," he said. ..

There’s never been a more important time to support independent media.

From World War 1 to present-day cosmopolitan South Africa and beyond, the Sunday Times has been a pillar in covering the stories that matter to you.

For just R80 you can become a premium member (digital access) and support a publication that has played an important political and social role in South Africa for over a century of Sundays. You can cancel anytime.

Already subscribed? Sign in below.



Questions or problems? Email helpdesk@timeslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00.