Minister Gordhan’s only ‘crime’ is bravery

The past few weeks have seen the residents of Johannesburg go without water for days on end.

Apparently, some employee(s) of Rand Water or Joburg Water did not open a valve for days, leading to the introduction of air pockets into the water supply system.

And these have caused chaos for residents and businesses in what is supposed to be the financial capital of not only Gauteng, but sub-Saharan Africa.

Rand Water is owned by the government. Just like Eskom, the electricity utility. And just like Eskom, the quality of the goods (water) they supply has been steadily decreasing over the past 30 years.

Three decades ago, one of South Africa’s bragging rights was that its tap water was among the safest in the world.

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Not only that, the supply of water in the main city centres was among the most reliable. As reliable as the South African Airways (SAA) once was, or the overnight train that travelled from Joburg’s Park Station to Makhado and Musina in Limpopo.

So reliable was the rail service that permanent employment at Transnet was considered as safe and secure as working for the government directly. People considered employment at state-owned enterprises (SOEs) as jobs-for-life. Not anymore.

In the same week that Rand Water and its subsidiary, Joburg Water, battled to get rid of self-inflicted air pockets out of Joburg’s water supply system, Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan returned to the spotlight again as public enemy number one.

His biggest crime? Announcing that the SAA had pulled out of its deal with private company Takatso consortium, which would have pumped R3 billion to revive the airline that had all but collapsed during the pandemic.

Granted, Gordhan kept details of the deal private, but he also did what so many before him had been afraid to do, get an SOE on the verge of getting private sector money to finance its operations.

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The outrage directed at Gordhan has even gone as far as suggesting jail time for his “crime” of wanting to sell off government assets to his “friends”.

Just like the government wants to sell Eskom, another failing SOE. Maybe Gordhan is guilty of this crime and along with President Cyril Ramaphosa, both supposed stooges of white monopoly capital, want to sell off state assets to their friends or his masters?

According to these critics, these SOEs must remain in state hands at whatever cost.

The latest Treasury financials show that since 2020, the government has spent a staggering R325 billion in bailouts for – wait for it – Eskom, Transnet, SAA, the Land Bank, The Post Office and Denel. R325 billion in just three years.

And all these entities have shown no turnaround – except maybe SAA, which can supposedly survive for 18 months on its own before another bailout is needed.

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Those hurling insults at Gordhan must think nothing of those sums. They must think nothing of potential jobs that the amount could have been used to create in building new and maintaining existing infrastructure in the public sector.

The state’s record in running SOEs is as clear as day – a complete failure on all fronts.

Should SA wait until green mouldy water is coming out of Joburg taps, or until nothing comes out at all before considering public-private partnerships for Rand Water and Joburg Water?

Is it better for the state to keep taking money from the poor to finance Eskom through another R7.5 billion loss – in 2023 – where some of the money ends up in tenderpreneurs’ pockets?

Hate Gordhan for his personal politics maybe, but not for wanting to stop the waste of taxpayers’ money.

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