Citizen Online
Friday, November 24, 2006
JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's state-owned-enterprises (SOEs) "are in a good state" and should not be privatised, the National Assembly's public enterprises committee said on Tuesday.
"Our consideration of the annual reports of the SOEs suggests that, in general, where government provides SOEs with a clear mandate and supervision, and ensures that they have effective and driven boards and managements, SOEs can be quite successful," committee chairman Yunus Carrim said in a statement.
"In other words, the government is correct to keep enterprises involved in key sectors of the economy in state hands, instead of privatising them."
* Transnet went from a loss of R6,3 billion in the 2004 financial year to profits of R6,5 billion in 2005 and R4,5 billion in 2006.
"While these results are partly a reflection of changes in accounting procedures, they are substantially an outcome of cost reductions, productivity and efficiency gains, and the effective implementation of Transnet's massive turnaround strategy," Carrim's review statement said.
* Eskom continued to provide the cheapest electricity in the world.
With a profit of R4,6 billion in 2006, Eskom also continued its impressive financial performance.
* Denel suffered a loss of R1,3 billion during 2006 - down from a loss of R1,5 billion the previous year, but was to become an investment holding company with about eight to 12 independent businesses with their own boards and balance sheets.
* SA Airways' profits were down from R648 million to R65 million, mainly due to competition from low-cost carriers and a huge 51,5% increase in the fuel price.
* Alexkor's net operating loss increased from R1,5 million to R38,1 million, mainly due to a reduction in the number of "sea days" for marine mining and the costs of its non-core activities.
* Safcol recorded a profit of R168,7 million during an adjusted nine-month financial year compared to the previous 12-month year's profit of R232,7 million. - Sapa.