Privatisation

/ 29 March 2024

‘Team privatisation’ continues to score despite SAA own-goal

Despite what some say about the Takatso deal’s collapse, the private sector has made strong inroads at public enterprises

This content is restricted to subscribers only.

Join the M&G Community

Our commitment at the Mail & Guardian is to ensure every reader enjoys the finest experience. Join the M&G community and support us in delivering in-depth news to you consistently.

Subscription enables:

– M&G community membership
– independent journalism
– access to all premium articles & features
– a digital version of the weekly newspaper
– invites to subscriber-only events
– the opportunity to test new online features first

Already a subscriber?
Login here.

By Sarah Smit

Business

/ 16 January 2024

Unions threaten legal action over jobs at Durban port

Dock workers are demanding transparency over Transnet’s partnership with the Filipino container company and an assurance there will be no retrenchments

This content is restricted to subscribers only.

Join the M&G Community

Our commitment at the Mail & Guardian is to ensure every reader enjoys the finest experience. Join the M&G community and support us in delivering in-depth news to you consistently.

Subscription enables:

– M&G community membership
– independent journalism
– access to all premium articles & features
– a digital version of the weekly newspaper
– invites to subscriber-only events
– the opportunity to test new online features first

Already a subscriber?
Login here.

By Lyse Comins

Cabinet Report Cards 2023

/ 22 December 2023

Department of Public Enterprises

State capture is often cited as the the reason for the department’s ongoing failures, but its problems run far deeper

By Sarah Smit

Business

/ 17 October 2023

Transnet and the state’s new spin on privatisation

The government’s draft plan for the beleaguered port and rail operator advances the ideal of an entrepreneurial state

This content is restricted to subscribers only.

Join the M&G Community

Our commitment at the Mail & Guardian is to ensure every reader enjoys the finest experience. Join the M&G community and support us in delivering in-depth news to you consistently.

Subscription enables:

– M&G community membership
– independent journalism
– access to all premium articles & features
– a digital version of the weekly newspaper
– invites to subscriber-only events
– the opportunity to test new online features first

Already a subscriber?
Login here.

By Sarah Smit

Thought Leader

/ 28 August 2023

The Fiscal Cliff | State-owned entities: A war zone between political and economic elites

The corporatisation of SOEs has disempowered the South African public and benefited corporate power and private finance

By Andile Zulu

Business

/ 9 June 2023

Creaking economy must be reformed for the better

Structural reforms are often offered as the solution to South Africa’s growth problem, but we should be wary when they are code for privatisation

By Editorial

Opinion

/ 5 May 2023

Public ownership of the electricity system must be defended

We cannot allow the planned handover of Eskom coal power stations to the private sector to go ahead

By Irvin Jim

Opinion

/ 14 April 2023

Thabo Bester’s escape shows how privatising harms crime control

We should question the issue of prison outsourcing when the motive is profit and not public safety

By Casper Lӧtter

Opinion

/ 4 April 2023

Prisons, profits and privatisation’s perils

We are bound to run into trouble when the private sector is given free rein to determine who is deserving of being treated as human and who is not

By Sarah Smit

Opinion

/ 7 March 2023

Fix Eskom, because the energy revolution won’t be privatised

We should not be fooled into giving up on the public sector which can – and should – look out for our best interests

By Sarah Smit

Business

/ 1 March 2023

After 100 years of Eskom, SA’s energy future hangs in the balance

The country’s dalliance with privatisation threatens to push up electricity costs, undermining energy security

This content is restricted to subscribers only.

Join the M&G Community

Our commitment at the Mail & Guardian is to ensure every reader enjoys the finest experience. Join the M&G community and support us in delivering in-depth news to you consistently.

Subscription enables:

– M&G community membership
– independent journalism
– access to all premium articles & features
– a digital version of the weekly newspaper
– invites to subscriber-only events
– the opportunity to test new online features first

Already a subscriber?
Login here.

By Sarah Smit

Business

/ 27 January 2023

It’s clear that state-owned entities can’t be turned around by politics

With Eskom and most other entities in states of disrepair, the relevance of the department of public enterprises is questioned

By Sarah Smit

Business

/ 4 February 2022

Can the private sector help to fix ‘a fragile state’?

Privatisation stands to deepen inequalities. But some experts say collaboration between business and government can work in everyone’s interest

This content is restricted to subscribers only.

Join the M&G Community

Our commitment at the Mail & Guardian is to ensure every reader enjoys the finest experience. Join the M&G community and support us in delivering in-depth news to you consistently.

Subscription enables:

– M&G community membership
– independent journalism
– access to all premium articles & features
– a digital version of the weekly newspaper
– invites to subscriber-only events
– the opportunity to test new online features first

Already a subscriber?
Login here.

By Sarah Smit and Anathi Madubela

Africa

/ 3 February 2022

Coup season in the Sahel raises uncomfortable questions

Beset by political instability, the region is also the canary in the climate change coal mine

By The Continent

Business

/ 1 February 2021

Agriculture eyes rival to Land Bank

The state-owned institution’s financial woes have led farmers and agribusiness to consider making an offer on the bank, starting a cooperative bank or partner with global commodities futures traders

By Siqalane Taho

Thought Leader

/ 16 November 2020

The uberfication of the university

The pandemic is hastening neoliberal universities’ moves towards platform pedagogy, where lecturers become participants in the “just-in-time” gig economy and students become “clients”

By Lesley le Grange