To genuinely appreciate South Africa’s State-owned enterprises (SOEs) – the infamous 131 – while retaining a positive demeanour, it would be best if you were prone to regular bouts of amnesia. If not, you would but echo the memorable Yogi Berra expression: “It’s like déjà vu all over again.”

On June 12, a ‘new’ SOE Council was announced. This entity is said to be focused on fixing the SOEs – fixed, when disposal should be front and centre! Rewind to two months shy of four years ago – to August 25, 2016 – when the SOE Coordinating Council was announced, arising from the Presidential SOE Review Committee (PRC), which had been appointed in 2010. The PRC’s recommendations were approved by Cabinet in April 2013.

At the time the PRC’s recommendations were approved, the then State President, Jacob Zuma, appointed an Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC), which was chaired by the then Deputy President, Cyril Ramaphosa, to oversee the implementation of the recommendations.

In a statement released on August 25, 2016, titled ‘Presidency on Presidential State-Owned Enterprises Coordinating Council’, the Presidency noted: “One of the reform measures currently being developed by the IMC is the establishment of a Presidential SOCs Coordinating Council, which will allow for better oversight and coordination of State-owned companies. This measure is part of a comprehensive overhaul of the shareholder model of State-owned companies being led by the IMC in line with the recommendations of the Presidential Review Committee on State-Owned Entities.”

This brings us to the ‘old’ SOE Council, whose composition, as reported by this magazine on May 23, 2018, would be split between Ministers, businesspeople, experts and stakeholders. The Engineering News article quoted the President as saying: “By bringing expertise from outside government and by ensuring the attendance of the CEOs of these companies, we will be empowering the various shareholder Ministers to ensure all strategic SoEs play an effective role in expanding the capacity and the potential of our economy.” The article further referred to Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan’s plan for the “recapture” of SOEs, adding that credible boards and capable management would be appointed and that lifestyle audits would be conducted. Gordhan also indicated that “the business models of the SOEs might also be reviewed to ensure that the entities became more sustainable”. More than two years later, here we are, with challenges too numerous to mention.

Meanwhile, the need for SOEs to be “self-reliant” was emphasised in the President’s State of the Nation Address delivered on February 7, 2019. The President said: “Where SOEs are not able to raise sufficient financing from banks, from capital markets, from development finance institutions or from the fiscus, we will need to explore other mechanisms, such as strategic equity partnerships or selling off nonstrategic assets.”

On May 31, ahead of the announcement of the ‘new’ SOE Council, Ramaphosa was quoted by Eyewitness News as saying: “I see a good future for SAA and, similarly, I see a better one for Eskom.” What about the 129 others? Then, on June 12, he said the ‘new’ SOE Council would support government in repositioning SOEs “as effective instruments of economic transformation and development”.

This is reminiscent of Münchener Freiheit, a 1980s pop band, which sang: “The hopes we had were much too high; Way out of reach, but we have to try; The game will never be over; Because we’re keeping the dream alive.”