Overview
The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) is the shareholder representative for government with oversight responsibility for the following state-owned enterprises:
- Energy & Mining
Eskom
PBMR (Pebble Bed Modular Reactor)
Alexkor - Manufacturing
Denel
Safcol
Broadband Infraco - Transport
South African Airways
Transnet
South African Express Airways
SOEs have a crucial role to play in advancing economic growth, since they are responsible for the development of key infrastructure and manufacturing capacity for South Africa.
Infrastructure investments are a core part of the accelerated growth strategy, and SOEs are implementing comprehensive investment programmes to ensure that significant and sustained opportunities for investment are created.
To have State Owned Enterprises that:
- Are efficiently managed, meeting domestic and international benchmarks
- Play a role in their industry, ensuring an optimal allocation of responsibility between the public and private sector
- Undertake investment programmes that provide the necessary capacity to facilitate faster economic growth
- Implement their investment programmes in such a manner that the national economy is strengthened in a sustainable way.
In order to attain this vision it is critical that the department develops a world-class shareholder management model, enabling effective collaboration between the shareholders and the board.
To provide each SOE with:
- Clear mandates
- Simple, understandable and implementable governance systems
- Effective performance management
The mandate of the DPE is to ensure alignment between SOE business strategies with Sector department policies and regulatory authorities, whilst ensuring that the SOEs are sustainable businesses that provide economic benefit to the country.
Competitive Supplier Development Programme
With the drop in gross fixed capital investment over the last twenty years, the South African capital goods industry has stagnated. The Competitive Supplier Development Programme (CSDP), headed up by the Joint Projects Facility, is aimed at addressing this issue. SOEs have a strong interest in securing supplier industry development, as this will enhance their own competitiveness in their core activities and ensure security of supply for key inputs. Through total procurement spend, the SOEs have a powerful instrument to secure investment in skills, plant and technology by suppliers. This should improve productivity and thus competitiveness of suppliers. It will also reduce the dependency on imports, and foreign exchange exposure, and develop niche export areas.
