Banks urge Ramaphosa to put politics aside in fixing State firms

A lobby group representing South African banks urged President Cyril Ramaphosa to prioritise the country’s wider interests rather than securing votes for the ruling African National Congress if he is to boost confidence in the economy before May elections. Ramaphosa’s plan to split its troubled power utility Eskom Holdings into three separate parts has met resistance from the country’s largest labor federation, which has been in an alliance with the ANC and the country’s communist party since winning the nation’s first multi-racial elections in 1994. While his administration has replaced boards and top executives at state-owned companies, including Eskom, it hasn’t embraced the job cuts needed to bring costs down or the privatisation of State assets.