Johannesburg - The ANC national executive committee has called on government to individually cost and monitor the mandate of state owned enterprises as plans are afoot to restructure some of them which are struggling to stay afloat.
At it meeting at the weekend, which preceded the annual lekgotla, the governing party received a detailed report on SOEs, particularly focusing on Eskom and the SAA.
ANC secretary general Ace Magashule said the country's SOEs as a group were plagued by financial struggles, some of which were a result of the broader economic slowdown, high debts and corruption.
This comes as SAA has been placed under business rescue with plans afoot to restructure the entity, a move which is set to see a number of jobs being slashed.
Worker unions have blamed SAA's woes on corruption, dubiously inflated and evergreen and historical contracts which the airline continued to honour.
Magashule said the NEC had come out with a directive for government to address the crisis.
"The NEC resolved on the investigation of historical contracts impacting on SAA, including the lease airplanes and evergreen contracts. The socioeconomic mandates of the SOEs need to be strengthened and costed," Magashule said.
He said appropriate forms of partnership with private companies, investors and workers would be considered where it would enable the public enterprises to better fulfill their roles.
"SAA should be retained as a national airline, which will require substantial restructuring. Cabinet should take the operational decisions needed to achieve that," he said.
Magashule said Eskom's new management under Andre Ruyter had to be given support as it was tasked with ensuring the reliable supply of electricity through the improvement of the quality of engineering throughout its operations.
"Cabinet should assist by fast-tracking additional, affordable sources of electricity supply, including gas, clean coal and regional partnerships, as well as renewables, in order to provide Eskom with the space it needs for repairs and maintenance," he said.