- South Africa Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, Gwede Mantashe, has declared the South African National Petroleum Company (SANPC) as open for business and ready for investors.
The Minister was delivering remarks at the official launch of SANPC in Johannesburg, on Friday. The new state-owned enterprise (SOE) is an amalgamation of PetroSA, the South African Gas Development Company (iGas) and the Strategic Fuel Fund Association.
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It is aimed at enhancing South Africa’s energy security, reducing dependence on imported petroleum products and ensuring more effective management of the country’s petroleum assets.
“The real issue is ensuring energy security in the country. In the wake of evolving global trends, including the push to shift away from fossil fuel usage, the SANPC is expected to operate in an increasingly volatile, unpredictable and polarised world. The local refining capacity is also quite critical. Reviving PetroSA is important, SAPREF is important and therefore, if there are people who want to partner with us…we are open for business, we are open for partnerships and we are open for people who want to invest,” he said.
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The Minister highlighted that the demand for fossil fuels is expected to grow, despite the shift in demand towards cleaner sources of energy production. To this end, the SANPC is expected to oversee strategic planning, coordination, and governance of the country’s petroleum resources, and thereby contribute to the country’s sustainable development and inclusive economic growth. For the entity to generate revenue for self-sustainability and sufficiency, it must take advantage of the strategic partnerships and national capabilities in the energy industry to champion energy supply and investment in associated infrastructure,” he said.
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The Minister emphasised the need for good governance and leadership at the SOE.
“To enable the entity to deliver on its mandate, we had to ensure good governance, and in so doing, reduce both the operational and financial risks; hence, we swiftly appointed the board of directors, an interim CEO, as well as the non-executive directors in April last year. Since then, tremendous work has been done in winding down the outstanding matters and getting governance arrangements going. For the entity to succeed, it must have a strong leadership with vision, common objectives, and the ability to develop managerial capacity. It is equally important for all employees to foster a new culture and a sense of community that encourages collaboration and teamwork, as well as transparent and honest communication. A task at hand for all of us is to ensure that the entity remains financially sustainable and independent in order to fulfil its developmental mandate,” Mantashe concluded.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
