Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni is not backing down. Image: GCIS.
Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, has said she will “not back down” from her comments about the private sector.
Ntshavheni last week accused the private sector of engineering the state’s collapse.
“We have maintained over the period that the performance of the rand and sometimes the performance of the economy has been manipulated by the private sector, who have no interest in the development of this country,” she said.
Ntshavheni said the private sector continued to “engineer and do machinations to ensure that the government collapses”.
Now, Ntshavheni has hit back saying criticism of her comments was systemic of “male chauvinism” in the industry she wrote in an opinion piece carried by BusinessLive.
“We are all aware that those who are thin on content opt to play the man and not the ball. But you can call me any name if it makes you sleep at night, I am not bothered. What is distasteful even for those low on substance is attempts to reduce a female to be a mere parrot for a man, even when that man is the president himself.
“The notion that on my own I cannot express a view except when that view is sponsored by the president simply confirms male chauvinism is bedevilling the media. It is a reflection of a society that fuels gender-based violence because women, in particular the younger ones, must be put in their place, and thus editors do not even feel ashamed to refer to a minister as a child or as a mere mouthpiece of a male president,” Ntshavheni said.
Ntshavheni said there is an attempt to delegitimise the government’s attempts to seek recourse for corporate crime because the government “must apparently be solely preoccupied with resolving the challenges confronting it”.
“The unsaid narrative is that this government must not dare demand recourse for the poor South Africans who were badly affected by the rand manipulation. We don’t even know if the market has recovered from the actions of those banks.”
Ntshavheni said she is the “first to acknowledge the active contribution of the private sector under the CEO Initiative to resolve the country’s electricity crisis”.
She also mentions that the initiative is addressing the freight and logistics crises as well.
“Another area of immense challenge that government is confronted with and recently partnered with the CEO Initiative to resolve is the obstacles faced by the freight and logistics sector. To demonstrate the amount of progress that is being made, Transnet, as recently as 20 November, detailed the extent of its problems and the time it will take to resolve the immediate ones.”
Ntshavheni said the Census 2022 results dispels the myth and narrative of a “failed state”.
“The data shows how the governing party has fulfilled its promise of a better life for all. We have achieved significant progress in addressing historical inequalities, despite the many challenges still facing our people, and this was not coincidental,” Ntshavheni said.
ALSO READ: Eskom receives two-notch rating boost from S&P Global
Download our app and read this and other great stories on the move. Available for Android and iOS.
