The complete-to-date article to which the items below have just been added is to be found under {Publications/Privatisation/Privatisation Update – South Africa}, which you can add to your favourites file for convenient reference.
Updated 23 October 2000
* New this week
General and policy aspects
* UK business criticises telecommunications, energy, and water regulators for poor judgement, unnecessary interference, plain incompetence, and yielding to political intervention. Regulators’ staffing and costs have soared. UK is moving away from sector-specific regulation to more general competition law. (BD 17.10)
* Radebe tells SA Investment Conference in Paris that competition is a key element in SA’s restructuring of state-owned enterprises. Alongside normal competition authorities, new regulatory frameworks are being developed for rail, port and airport industries. Electrical transmission will be separated but remain in state hands. (BD 18.10)
* N M Rothschild & Sons, the appointed transaction adviser for Spoornet restructuring, expects the long-awaited process of privatisation of state assets to transform SA over the next few years. Telkom, Eskom, Transnet and Denel may be worth over R300bn. Initial Public Offerings will be too large for the SA market and will need to tap international institutions. (BR 18.10)
Mineral & Energy Affairs – Eskom
* Eskom Enterprises hopes to create 1500 jobs and export 60m tons of beneficiated high-grade coal over 20 years, if Min/Energy Dept approves. (BR 20.10)
Mineral & Energy Affairs – Mossgas
* Central Energy Fund chairman Kunene hopes to merge its parastatals Mossgas and Soekor within five months. Finance Minister Manuel is disappointed with the R311m two-year dividend from Mossgas after around R12bn funding from fuel levies. (BR 21.10)
Transport – Spoornet
* UK’s Halcrow Rail group studied Spoornet and will make recommendations to govt soon, perhaps including up to 18 000 job losses over three years. (BD 19.10)
Transport – Transnet
* Transnet Pension Fund’s 1990 R17.2bn deficit has now become a R2.4bn surplus. The fund will be ring-fenced and most members are expected to switch to a new defined-contribution fund without a pay-as-you-go approach or open-ended liability guaranteed by the state. (Star 19.10)
* EDS Africa estimates that Metrorail fails to collect fares for two-thirds of 2.5m daily commuter journeys. Metrorail says fare evasion levels have been reduced from 27% last year to 23% this year. Transport Minister Omar wants to concession the entire commuter system after 2003. (BD 19/23.10)
