Draft National State Enterprises Bill 2023 Submission of Public Comment to the Department of Public Enterprises

The Public Affairs Research Institute and Corruption Watch argue that the Draft National State Enterprises Bill 2023 fails to provide adequate safeguards against political interference in the appointment of state-owned enterprise (SOE) boards. They propose adapting the Zondo Commission's recommendations by establishing a statutory 'integrity' appointment and oversight committee to vet candidates for the proposed holding company. The authors further contend that the Bill lacks clear timelines for transferring entities to the holding company and fails to provide the comprehensive primary legislation needed to resolve systemic governance failures in South Africa's SOEs.

• The authors argue that the Bill does not sufficiently prevent political interference because it grants the President or their delegate sole power to act as the shareholder for the Republic of South Africa, with appointment powers constrained only by the Companies Act, which the authors deem insufficient for the collective interest of the public.
• To prevent state capture, the authors propose the creation of a statutory 'integrity' appointment and oversight committee to vet candidates for the holding company's board and senior executives (CEO, CFO, and Chief Procurement Officer) through public hearings.
• The proposed oversight committee would be composed of a retired judge (chair), a senior legal practitioner, representatives from the business community and organised labour (via NEDLAC), a registered auditor, an industry expert (via the Public Service Commission), and a representative from an anti-corruption non-profit.
• The authors identify critical gaps in the Bill, noting it lacks timelines for phasing in SOEs as subsidiaries, provides no criteria for which entities should be transferred, and does not apply to entities remaining under line departments.
• The submission concludes that the Bill fails to provide the single, comprehensive primary legislation for SOE governance recommended by the Presidential Review Committee in 2013, meaning complex and conflicting legal architectures will continue to enable governance problems.

APA

Public Affairs Research Institute (2023). Draft National State Enterprises Bill 2023 Submission of Public Comment to the Department of Public Enterprises. https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/PARI_CW_Submission_SOEs_Oct23_v187.pdf

Chicago

Public Affairs Research Institute. Draft National State Enterprises Bill 2023 Submission of Public Comment to the Department of Public Enterprises. 2023. https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/PARI_CW_Submission_SOEs_Oct23_v187.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Public Affairs Research Institute |title=Draft National State Enterprises Bill 2023 Submission of Public Comment to the Department of Public Enterprises |date=14 October 2023 |url=https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/PARI_CW_Submission_SOEs_Oct23_v187.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{publicaffairsresearchinstitute2023draft, author = {{Public Affairs Research Institute}}, title = {{Draft National State Enterprises Bill 2023 Submission of Public Comment to the Department of Public Enterprises}}, publisher = {Public Affairs Research Institute}, year = {2023}, month = oct, url = {https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/PARI_CW_Submission_SOEs_Oct23_v187.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }