The government goes into business when the private sector is reluctant or unable to invest in certain economic activities, like roads, schools and healthcare.

Some political populists, while ignoring reality, have become too economical with the truth regarding the state of state-owned enterprises (SOEs). The reality is that SOEs are milking a lot of money through bailouts. Recently, the EFF and Cosatu joined some populists within the ANC who still refuse to engage with the evidence, arguing that the Treasury and public enterprises departments are collapsing some SOEs to later privatise them.

Ordinary South Africans are not benefiting from continued bailouts of SAA. The airline has received in excess of R49bn in bailouts since 2006, and hasn’t earned any profit since 2011. The R49bn pumped into SAA could have improved many citizens’ living conditions by providing the much-needed basic services. Instead of privatising SAA, we are often told that the airline is the pride of the country (read pride of the politicians). It cannot be the pride of the nation when ordinary citizens don’t derive any benefit from the continued existence of SAA. South Africans don’t get any value for money from its continued investments in SAA.

The Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa), which could be the pride of ordinary citizens, has been derailed. The reality is that ordinary citizens commute with Prasa more than SAA but populists live in an imaginary world, far from the real world faced by ordinary citizens. Continued bailouts of unsustainable SOEs deprive ordinary citizens of service delivery.

-Phepisi Radipere, GaRamokadi-kadi