Rethinking the role of state-owned enterprises

Abstract

Presented with serious challenges, the government recently proposed a number of targeted interventions to accelerate economic growth, create new employment opportunities, improve access to basic services, and reduce poverty. In emerging policy debates, thinking has begun to converge on a new (or more specifically defined) role for state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to address some of the challenges described above. SOEs are commonly defined in South Africa as business entities owned wholly or partly by the state and run by a public authority, generating the bulk of their revenue from selling goods and services.