TOBY SHAPSHAK: Telkom. Who would have thought?
How Telkom has become the most efficiently run and most profitable of SA’s state-owned enterprises
Telkom, once the most dysfunctional of lazy and ineffectual monopolies, has emerged as the most efficiently run and most profitable of SA’s state-owned enterprises. Who would have thought? The once-floundering telecom company has rebuilt itself as a nimble and effective operation, demonstrating that anything is possible with clear vision, good management and a lack of political interference.Telkom is blessed, if that is the word, by not being in mining or energy production, or flying planes. This has made it immune to the wanton looting that has plagued Eskom and SA Airways (SAA) under the uncontrollable looting of the President Jacob Zuma kleptocracy. Apart from the obvious foolishness of bailing out the hopelessly useless SAA, finance minister Malusi Gigaba’s secret plan to sell Telkom shares to raise that bailout money is a new nadir of financial madness. Selling a stake in a good asset to rescue a bad one demonstrates why Gigaba isn’t up to the task of rescuing our economy.The s...
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