The 12 state-owned entities (SOEs) which fall under the jurisdiction of the Department of Transport (DoT) – including the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral); the Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA); Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC); Cross Border Road Transport Agency (CBRTA); Rail Safety Regulator (RSR) and the Ports Regulator – have all improved their performance and achieved at least 70% of their set targets over the 2016 financial year.
This according to Minister of Transport, Joe Maswanganyi, who told a media briefing in Pretoria this morning (Friday) that in order to bring about “radical economic transformation,” there was a “definite need to amplify the role of SOEs as instruments for significant advancement of economic transformation within South Africa”. Therefore, he added, SOEs had not been created to maximise profits or incur losses, rather their existence was for driving the development agenda.
Maswanganyi conceded that many of the SOEs were faced with what he termed “significant weaknesses and threats that might become grave impediments to their optimum contribution”.
“Generally, SOEs tend to lack robust leadership and initiative on crucial transformation imperatives such as broad-based black economic empowerment, the creation of meaningful employment opportunities, and comprehensive skills development. Collaboration and coordination among SOEs and their oversight is poor. This reduces the impact made by SOEs in service delivery and it increases their costs,” he highlighted.
Maswanganyi said the Presidential Review Committee (PRC) – appointed last year to evaluate overall SOE performance – had recommended major reforms. “These reforms address matters of oversight for SOEs, establishment/disestablishment of SOEs; strategic planning, funding, legal and regulatory policy, institutional structures, systems, capacity, as well as critical performance evaluation measures,” he explained.
