Ministers must not have power to dismiss SOE board members, says analyst
Political analyst Goodenough Mashego says the mass exodus of senior board members from state-owned entities is robbing of much-needed skills needed to reform the sector.
Mashego believes the resignations are partly due to the flawed structure of SOEs.
His comments came after the announcement of the latest high-profile resignation at Transnet, with Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan confirming that former chairperson Popo Molefe had left the struggling entity.
The announcement follows the recent resignations of Transnet CEO Portia Derby, CFO Nonkululeko Dlamini and Transnet Freight Rail CEO Siza Mzimela.
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Gordhan said Molefe’s decision was due to personal reasons and is not related to the recent developments at the company.
But Mashego says there are significant issues when it comes to the minister’s powers in appointing and dismissing board members.
"Pravin Gordhan, who did not solely appoint Popo Molefe, was able to remove him from the board and replace him with Andile Sangqu. This is self-defeating because we have committees that interview people for the board, and when people get on the board, just on the whim of the minister, some of these people can be removed from these positions. I think Gordhan is not the best minister for this portfolio," said Mashego.
He said the powers to remove board members cannot lie with the executive.
At the same time, Professor in Logistics from Stellenbosch University, Jan Havenga, said the recent resignations at Transnet could open up opportunities to get the entity back on track.
"The process that was started when Minister Gordhan basically called Transnet to order on the 1st of September, and asked for a turnaround plan got these people to a point realised they had to resign. So I am happy about the resignations. Popo has done his best, but he needs to rest now.
"Transnet has been costing our economy a huge amount of money, I hope it's going to turn around now. Since the 1st of September, Gordhan has been making really good decisions, so I hope he stays," said Havenga.
Deputy Finance Minister David Masondo recently said the government had begun discussions with the World Bank to extend a $1 billion loan to support Eskom’s transmission company and to upgrade Transnet’s railway infrastructure.
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