Publications
Partners
CEO of the SA Forum of Civil Engineering Contractors, Webster Mfebe believes, the maladministration in South Africa’s state-owned enterprises (SOEs) should be blamed on three factors – juniorisation, mediocritisation and state capture.
Speaking during the special provincial funeral of businesswoman and uMkhonto weSizwe veteran Dr Thandi Ndlovu on Friday, Mfebe urged President Cyril Ramaphosa to address these issues.
“I appealed to the president to help our country not to slide into a kleptocratic kakistocracy. And that all public officials must understand the honour and responsibility of leadership and that it must not be confused with dealership, with the intention to cut deals for themselves, their families, and friends,” Mfebe said.
He said he would be writing a book focusing on how to correct the current state of the country’s ailing SOEs.
“Dr T hated corruption, malfeasance and state capture with all her heart and we agreed that the private sector is a major source of all this and the dysfunctional state-owned enterprises … ”
Mfebe told mourners that Ndlovu had already agreed “to write a foreword, proofread and contribute some chapters in the book I am writing titled Juniorisation, Mediocritisation and Capture of State Institutions in South Africa”.
“Dr T, a formidable fighter, even defied death on that fateful day of the unfortunate head-on collision by refusing to die on the accident scene, but later died in hospital as consequence of the absence of specialists in Rustenburg who could deal with her life threatening condition and she eventually succumbed to her fatal injuries. How ironic that as a medical doctor in her own right, she was not conscious enough to even make suggestions to other doctors due to the state of some of the ill-equipped and under-staffed hospitals in our country,” he said.
“In Dr T’s memory, I therefore call on our government to ensure that even small and rural towns in the hinterland of our country are provided with adequate healthcare services in order to give every South African their constitutional and non-derogable right to life.”
Read: Businesswoman Dr Thandi Ndlovu killed in car crash
Mfebe also called on government to ensure that all South Africans benefit from the controversial National Health Insurance Bill, which was unveiled by Health Minister Zweli Mkhize earlier this month.
“I sincerely hope that the much-vaunted NHI will remedy these inequalities, preceded by the development of healthcare infrastructure, routine maintenance, adequate staffing and availability of the requisite medical supplies and equipment,” he told the mourners at the House of Treasures Ministries Church, south of Johannesburg.
Mfebe applauded Ramaphosa’s “new dawn” saying that it offers hope for the country to deal with the burning issues.
He acknowledged the president for supporting Public Private Growth Initiative which arose out of the job and investment summits.
Four of the 43 private sector projects, which are set to get underway this year, could see an economic injection of R840 billion and the creation of 155 000 jobs over the next five years.
These projects include the expansion of a Beefmaster abattoir and deboning facility, the establishment of local vehicle parts manufacturers, specific forestry plantations and paper processing plants and the founding of an agricultural development agency.
“This is a private initiative, which dispels the wrong notion that the private sector is on an investment strike,” he said.
“The government must expeditiously remove all the inhibitors to economic growth, including paying all the R183 million that was owed to Dr T’ Motheo Construction as of April 2019. This must be a turning point to pay all contractors, especially black-owned firms,” he added.
Ndlovu, who died in a car crash in Rustenburg last weekend, was given a hero’s send off on Friday, with Mfebe highlighting the impact she had in many people’s lives.
Her long list of achievements included establishing Motheo Construction, one of South Africa’s first black female-owned construction companies and the country’s leading provider of social housing.
Mfebe described Ndlovu as a “philanthropist, spiritual being, gallant fighter for socio-economic justice, community and nation builder, and most importantly a woman of prodigious stature and character … ”
. This article was updated to include additional quotes from Mfebe
