THE private sector’s role in stabilising the economy was highlighted in Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan’s budget speech.
The
budget and President Jacob Zuma’s state of the nation address last
month provide useful indications of where to start looking for
opportunities.
Gordhan stated in "energy, transport, telecommunication and urban development, there are many opportunities for joint public and private investment and facilities management". He also focused on "appropriate" private sector participation in the financial uplift of several state-owned entities (SOEs). Gordhan spoke of three key priorities in the restructuring of SOEs: entities that are no longer necessary should be "phased out"; SOEs with overlapping mandates should be rationalised and potential private sector minority interest investment in such rationalised SOEs should be explored; and "co-funding partnerships" with the private sector should be considered to bring in private sector investment. "Phasing out" entities that are no longer relevant to the "development agenda" could see the disposal of noncore assets as the government looks to unlock value in the process.
Gordhan stated in "energy, transport, telecommunication and urban development, there are many opportunities for joint public and private investment and facilities management". He also focused on "appropriate" private sector participation in the financial uplift of several state-owned entities (SOEs). Gordhan spoke of three key priorities in the restructuring of SOEs: entities that are no longer necessary should be "phased out"; SOEs with overlapping mandates should be rationalised and potential private sector minority interest investment in such rationalised SOEs should be explored; and "co-funding partnerships" with the private sector should be considered to bring in private sector investment. "Phasing out" entities that are no longer relevant to the "development agenda" could see the disposal of noncore assets as the government looks to unlock value in the process.
