Parastatals’ comedy of errors, no longer funny

By Sanjeev Gupta

If the country’s parastatals were funded by private capital, not taxpayers, their actions would been very funny. But they are not. And taxpayers expect seriousness in the way they are managed, not the never-ending comedy of errors, which, to be rectified, consume even more of their funds.
It is perturbing when a parastatal cannot get the correct height of a locomotive to be ordered right or lavishly spends millions on fortuitous corporate breakfasts when it is in dire need of funds. Wrong priorities!
All the more, no one wants to be held accountable, when things go horribly wrong. When it becomes apparent that the public cannot stomach it anymore, for the board of directors (whatever their composition is) the most convenient scapegoat becomes an organisation’s public face, the chief executive officer (CEO). But this does not come cheap, as the CEO is compensated for being made a sacrificial lamb with a princely golden handshake, at the tax payer’s expense to boot.
The thing is: the comedy of errors in parastatals is so tragic that it’s no longer funny. As a global brand, comedian, Trevor Noah, has better content for his shows, management bungling in parastatals no longer appeals.
Bold and decisive actions are needed from the executive to draw the curtain on the show!
Sanjeev “Sanjay Mahatma” Gupta writes for Transform SA Online from Chatsworth, Kwazulu Natal. He  ruffling feathers in search of objectivity is his calling.