Johannesburg - Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan is demanding a public apology from ANCYL president Collen Malatji for his statement saying if Gordhan is not stopped from selling state-owned companies, he will sell everything, including South Africans.
According to media reports, Malatji was expressing his disapproval over the sale of SAA.
Gordhan slammed what he called ongoing deliberate distortions of the truth about Eskom's restructuring by vested interests who seek to tarnish his name and undermine the work of government and the Department of Public Enterprises (DE) in restructuring state-owned companies (SOCs).
Gordhan said those looking for the truth ought to read the statement that the DE issued last week to correct false assertions about Eskom's restructuring, about which some elements have chosen to peddle lies.
He said the statement also reiterated that Eskom's three newly formed subsidiaries will remain 100% owned by the state.
The ministry said the latest attacks from Malatji (from whom the minister has demanded a public apology for his “ill-considered” statement) and from counter-revolutionaries and other discredited characters underscore the fact that the public ought to know that there are vested interests intent on crippling ongoing reform of SOCs to the detriment of millions of South Africans.
Gordhan said he will be meeting with the ANCYL shortly.
He said the government and the DPE will not be deterred in their work to revitalise SOCs, root out corruption, and ensure that they can deliver on their mandate to transform and develop the South African economy.
"We have not solved the problem of corruption. What we are doing in respect of restoring SOCs to functionality is about serving current and future generations," Gordhan said.
"The latest misinformation is further evidence that there is a concerted campaign involving people with vested interests who only care about lining their pockets and are intent on sowing confusion," he said.
"This campaign of misinformation and deliberate distortions, just like many others before it, is going to fail. Our focus is on executing on our mandate to ensure that SOCs deliver on key national strategic objectives, including transforming and revitalising our economy against all odds," said Gordhan.
The Star