OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Friday 12.20pm.
PUBLIC Enterprises Minister Jeff Radebe said on Friday that the government will accelerate the restructuring of state-owned assets and hopes to complete deals worth R40-billion by 2004.
”The year 2004 is the year we want to have completed the restructuring agenda in South Africa,” he said.
Radebe said the focus of restructuring will be on the big four parastatals with a combined asset value of R150-billion. These are defence group Denel, telecommunications utility Telkom, power utility Eskom and transport group Transnet.
Radebe said the restructuring framework include plans for a public listing of Telkom in 2001. At Transnet, a R27-billion debt which has hobbled efforts to revive the transport paratstatal will start being cleared by June 2000. Further details would be released at a later date, Radebe said.
”We are proceeeding full steam with the restructuring of Transnet into separate business units,” he said. — Reuters