David Mabuza on Eskom, Tito Mboweni & land reform
Deputy president David Mabuza answered questions from MPs in parliament on Tuesday, addressing issues including land reform, Eskom and the nationalisation of SOEs.
Here are six telling quotes from Mabuza.
Land reform
"There is no need for anyone to be apprehensive about our approach to land reform. Having said that, we cannot be complacent in dealing with the factors that contribute to any form of societal polarisation."
"A well-managed land reform programme will pose no threat to the agricultural sector and the economy in general."
Eskom
"The root causes of the current situation include a history of inadequate capacity to meet the demand, as well as poor power station performance resulting from the inability to perform at an appropriate level."
"Eskom has developed a detailed turnaround plan to address its structural, operational and financial challenges. Key to the success of this plan is a focus on driving efficiency and reducing costs."
Tito Mboweni
"The president (Cyril Ramaphosa) stood here and said there's no intention to privatise Eskom or SAA, period. Whether the minister wishes so, that's his opinion. There's one thing that I've learnt, when you're a minister, when you're in this position, you desist to be an individual. You work within a collective and don't just stand and say whatever you want to say."
"There's no manga business … No, I don't think that's the way we should approach this debate, whether there are certain entities that must be privatised, certain SOEs. This debate cannot be approached this way and I don't really take the minister of finance seriously when he's making comments."