When one thinks bout SOEs, the first ones that come to mind are the former ‘parastatals’ like SAA and Transnet that were corporatised in an attempt to harness some of the dynamism and operational efficiencies of private sector companies.
Of course, history has shown us that only the ‘trappings’ of private sector corporates such as palatial head offices and lavish perks and benefits for the Boards of Directors and top management were embraced, while operationally, the public sector mentality and red tape persisted.
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Added to this, the abject lack of accountability and consequence management that keeps private executives on their toes, allowed for the situation of total financial and operational collapse such as at SAA to become a reality.
What is less discussed, is the corporatisation that was embraced by the larger municipalities and Metros for large parts of their operational area.
Hence, we have Durban’s refuse department being turned into Durban Solid Waste and the electricity department of Johannesburg being re-invented as Citipower.
Each of these entities have their own Boards, offices, and staff, yet, almost without exception, there will still be senior managers in the employ of the Metros directly, with responsibility for these areas as well.
Many large municipalities have also created ‘Roads Agencies’ to manage the road infrastructure in their jurisdictions, but will still maintain significant plant and human resource capacity as well.
The annual horror story that is the Auditor General’s Report has catalogued the waste, mismanagement and blatant corruption that is evident in scores of these pseudo-corporatised entities.
Be it Durban Solid Waste, mired in a multi-million tender scandal involving the ex-Mayor, or Umgeni Water which see CEOs and Boards replaced frequently, serious attention needs to be given to unravelling these entities, and returning responsibility to those responsible for service delivery: Councils and municipal departments.
Then you have the entities that seem to ‘inserted’ into a particular space without apparent rhyme or reason.
Take the Housing Development Agency as a case in point: you have the National Department of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation, working with nine provincial departments to facilitate hosing for citizens.
With head offices in Killarney, several provincial offices, and a Board of nine directors, a brief look at their website does not reveal how the projects showcased could NOT have been delivered by the existing national and provincial staff in the Department.
My conclusion is simply this: in the absence of any proof that service delivery has been enhanced by the formation of any of these ‘Agencies’ and pseudo-corporates, these entities are simple conduits for rent seeking by the cadre of miscreants that continue to bleed our country and fiscus dry.
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