Gordhan slams DA for ‘mischaracterisation’ of AG report on SOEs

Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan has slammed the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) assertions and “mischaracterization” of the Auditor-General’s (AG) report on the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE).

The Auditor-General slammed the DPE in Parliament this week for failing to meet key targets for state-owned entities (SOE).

Bongumusa Thabethe, senior manager in the office of the auditor-general, told members of the portfolio committee on public enterprises that SOEs were deteriorating because of a number of failures by the department.

DPE in crisis

DA Shadow Minister of Public Enterprises Ghaleb Cachalia said the DPE, under Pravin Gordhan, was exposed as a “crisis-ridden entity that was operating on auto pilot.”

“With practically no one in the cockpit, the condition of State-Owned Enterprises has continued to deteriorate, performance is on a downward spiral and poor financial management has become the order of the day.

“Clearly Gordhan is not the man and he must do the honourable thing and resign with immediate effect. It is no longer tenable for him to continue presiding over a department that has essentially failed to maintain strong internal controls and is unable to turn around or privatise the doddering SOEs,” Cachalia said.

ALSO READ: Pravin Gordhan skips on Scopa and jets off to China

Gordhan hits back

However, Gordhan hit back saying, Cachalia is “seeking to mislead the South African public, score cheap political points and undermine the work of stabilizing state-owned enterprises.”

“Ghaleb Cachalia, DA’s spokesman on public enterprises, is bereft of any semblance of reality, judging by the extent to which he has desperately tried to mischaracterise this week’s presentation of the Auditor General before the Portfolio Committee of Public Enterprises.”

Gordhan said that neither he nor the department will be side-tracked from the work to stabilize state-owned enterprises, “improve their governance and equip them with qualified and capable leadership.”

Corruption

Gordhan also vowed to continue rooting out corruption that has left the SOEs haemorrhaging money, and not in a position to advance the economic imperatives of the country after being hollowed-out up by state capture.

“The AG’s presentation to the portfolio committee was a culmination of extensive and ongoing engagements that are aimed at aligning the work of the department with the stated objectives of government.

“Granted, the department has never taken the view that its work would find support from its detractors and opportunists like Cachalia and others of his ilk, as they have decided to not recognize the extent of the damage that was wrought on Eskom, Transnet, SAA and Denel in particular,” Gordhan said.

Performance

Gordhan added that the DPE, together with the AG and other departments and key role players, was determined to ensure that there was “alignment in the performance, set targets and departmental outcomes for the new financial year and beyond.”

Removal of Gordan

Meanwhile, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has also called for the immediate removal of Pravin Gordhan as Minister of Public Enterprises for what the party called “his deliberate destruction of strategic SOE’s” in light of the damning findings presented in the AG’s report.

The EFF has long been vocal about Gordhan’s incompetence and has repeatedly called for his removal. This report not only validates our position but also underscores the urgent need for decisive action.

“As the nation’s leading opposition party, we demand that President Cyril Ramaphosa take immediate steps to remove Gordhan from office and appoint a competent and capable individual who can salvage our struggling public enterprises,” the red berets said.

ALSO READ: WATCH: Eskom a ‘feeding trough’ for ANC – De Ruyter