Politicians on SOE boards aided state capture

Johannesburg – The appointment of chairpersons of boards and senior executives of state -owned enterprises (SOEs) can no longer be left in the hands of politicians as they have failed the country dismally.

This is according to the second part of the state capture commission report, which was handed to President Cyril Ramaphosa today.

The commission’s chairperson Raymond Zondo raised serious concerns about the appointments made at SOEs, saying they helped facilitate state capture.


“The appointment of boards of directors and the chief executive officers of state owned enterprises is a matter of serious concern. The evidence head by the commission in regard to not just Denel, but also other state-owned enterprises revealed that the executive often failed to appoint the right kind of people for these positions in SOEs,” the report states.

The commission made examples of former SAA board chairperson Dudu Myeni, former SARS commissioner Tom Moyane, former Eskom board chairpersons Zola Tsotsi and Ben Ngubane, former Transnet group CEOs Brian Molefe and Siyaboga Gama, as among some of the appointments that were resulted in the damage of these key state companies.

“It is quite clear that the appointment of members of the boards of directors of SOEs as well as senior executives such as chief executive officers and chief financial officers can no longer be left solely in the hands of politicians because in the main they have failed dismally to give these SOEs members of boards and chief executive officers and chief financial officers who have integrity and who have what it would take to lead these institutions successfully,” the report adds.
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