Corruption 'limits SOE contribution'
Unlocking billions from budgets will be key to the president's stimulus plan
State-owned enterprises collectively had a R360bn budget and were expected to play a role in the government's R50bn plan to boost the economy, public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan said on Friday. However, in many SOEs costs had increased because corruption was high, and this put a limit on the contribution these entities could make. "In many of our entities... you are paying double or treble for things." Following President Cyril Ramaphosa's announcement on Friday of an economic recovery plan, Gordhan said SOEs generally played a significant role in infrastructure spend and if investment from such enterprises was unlocked, "you'll get a lot more bang than we are currently getting, which will make a bigger impact on the economy". But it was necessary to clean up corruption and malfeasance at SOEs to get sufficient electricity, the right kind of rail service for mining and manufacturing, and efficient services at ports, Gordhan said. The government would also draw SOEs' attentio...
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