The South African government will set about creating a Presidential Co-ordinating Council to be in charge of the country’s State-owned companies (SOCs), says Minister in the Presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Jeff Radebe.

“Work will start for the creation of the Presidential SOCs Coordinating Council, which will provide President (Jacob) Zuma a line of sight on strategic decisions and interventions to create SOCs that play a transformative role in a capable developmental State,” he told the media here Monday on the outcome of last week’s four-day Cabinet Lekgotla (gathering).

“The aim is to create a co-ordinating council that is similar to the Infrastructure Co-ordinating Commission that is chaired by President Jacob Zuma because of the very important role that SOCs play in the economic development of South Africa,” he added.

He said the Lekgotla had reflected on progress made and the next steps to be taken in the reform of SOCs since the Cabinet Lekgotla of February 2015.

The Cabinet noted that the implementation of the stabilisation programme at SOCs had progressed in varying degrees. It said the strengthening of leadership to execute the turnaround strategies remained critical.

The Cabinet noted that power utility Eskom had largely been stabilised, with both operational and financial performance improving.

The Lekgotla placed priority on the finalisation of the Shareholder Ownership Model, which will guide the legislative framework for SOC reform by November 2016.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK