OPINION - I haven’t heard anything as daft as this for some time. If it came from Jacob Zuma I could understand. But Cyril Ramaphosa? We expected better from him.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has assured public servants that government has no intention of selling off loss-making, state-owned enterprises (SOEs), even though they are a heavy burden on the state.
His statement has allayed the fears of state employees about their job security and given them a morale booster, not so much as to improve their work ethic and efficiency but to continue doing what they are best at: idling around, putting their fingers into the cookie jars and licking KFC.
What is particularly galling about Ramaphosa’s utterances is that government cannot offload SOEs because of their strategic nature and a large, diverse cohort of skilled people and solid track records. What balderdash! What good track record do Transnet, Prasa, Eskom and SA Airways have?
Inefficiency is rife at the Durban container terminal, Prasa cannot keep trains running, Eskom has plunged the country into infernal darkness and SAA cannot keep its planes in the air without public money. If SOEs have such skilled people why are nearly all of them in such dire financial straits? Why are the new power stations as bad as the old ones? The Durban container terminal is one of the least efficient ports in the world with ships sitting idle outside the entrance for several days before they can enter the port.
Oh no, it slipped my mind, of course the SOEs are loaded with highly skilled people.
They are very good with their fingers, looting state coffers! And strategic? Yes, that too, the bloated public sector guarantees support for the ANC. How could Cyril Ramaphosa bite the hand that feeds him?
THYAGARAJ MARKANDAN I Kloof
DAILY NEWS