State-owned enterprises (SOEs) remain central to South Africa’s economic and infrastructure systems, yet their performance has deteriorated due to governance failures, political interference, and weak accountability. These failures have undermined service delivery, damaged public finances, and constrained economic growth.
The crisis in SOEs is not only structural, but institutional. The concentration of appointment powers and the absence of transparent selection processes have enabled political patronage and weakened the independence of boards. This has compromised oversight, eroded operational performance, and reduced public confidence in these entities.
The DA supports a governance model that prioritises competence, transparency, and accountability in the appointment and functioning of SOE boards. Independent and technically capable boards are essential for restoring institutional stability and improving executive performance.
A reformed appointment framework would introduce transparent processes, skills-based selection, and parliamentary oversight to ensure that board members are chosen for their expertise and integrity. Strengthening governance structures would improve operational outcomes, support financial sustainability, and ensure that SOEs fulfil their mandate to deliver reliable services to the public.
The DA’s reformed SOE governance framework would replace unilateral ministerial control over board appointments with a transparent, merit-based process rooted in parliamentary oversight. Independent selection panels, appointed through the relevant parliamentary portfolio committees, would identify and screen candidates based on technical expertise, governance experience, and professional competence.
Ministers would be required to select from a vetted shortlist and publicly justify their decisions, while appointment criteria and procedures would remain open, competitive, and transparent. This framework is designed to depoliticise appointments, strengthen accountability, and ensure that SOE boards are equipped to provide effective oversight, restore operational performance, and deliver reliable services to South Africans. Effective reform will depoliticise SOEs, restore institutional credibility, and reposition them as drivers of economic growth and service delivery rather than sources of fiscal risk and governance failure.
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