SAY GOODBYE TO YOUR HARD-EARNED CASH: SOEs’ PANDEMIC OF INCOMPETENCE COSTS TAXPAYERS A SMALL FORTUNE… AND IT’S SET TO GET WORSE
Did you know that the South African government has bailed out its incompetence-ridden state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to the tune of a mind-boggling R456.5 BILLION over the past nine years? And if you thought that was bad, buckle up, folks, because it’s about to get a whole lot worse – a whopping R520.6 BILLION by the end of next year alone!
And where’s the bill coming from, you ask? Well, let me tell you, it’s coming straight from your back pocket, courtesy of increased borrowing and some "creative" budget cuts. That’s right, folks, your hard-earned cash is being funneled into the deep, dark hole of SOE ineptitude.
Take Eskom, for example. The power utility giant has gobbled up a whopping R496 BILLION in bailouts, and it shows no signs of stopping. And don’t even get me started on the other SOEs – Sanral, South African Airways, and Transnet, who have each received their own respective share of your money.
"Broader reforms are underway in energy, freight, water, and telecommunications," says Rudzani Mandiwana, treasury’s chief director of asset and liability management. Yeah, sure, because nothing says "reforms" like throwing even more money at a problem.
But hey, at least we can take comfort in knowing that it’s not all bad news. I mean, Eskom has been load-shedding-free for a whopping 200 days, right? wink wink
Don’t miss out on our other juicy exposés, like "Eskom’s 36% price hike blamed on politics" – just click the link to find out more!
