BMIT Overview of South African State-Owned Enterprise (SOEs) 2025

 

Overview 

In this Report, BMIT sets out to identify, simplify and size the landscape of state-owned entities in South Africa, and to highlight key SOEs in their categories. It is an excellent primer and departure point for understanding this market.

This Report is part of the Trilogy of BMIT Reports, the other two being ICT Spend in National/Provincial Government 2024, and ICT Spend in Local Government 2024.

SOEs, or public entities, as defined in South Africa, can range from massive corporations, listed on the JSE and international bourses, to small local agencies with a couple of staff members. The report shows how all must be formally listed according to scheduled categories defined by the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA). A few must also comply with regulations of both the Companies Act.

The common denominator is that they are controlled by the state, undertaking their activities under a mandate from government and in accordance with government policies.

Only certain SOE’s have sufficient autonomy to enter into loan agreements, or similar transactions, under their own auspices. 

This report clarifies the SOE definitions, estimates numbers per category and gives brief overviews of each grouping. An accompanying Excel worksheet provides a comprehensive list of over 500 SOEs, with summarised profiles for the larger SOEs.

The bulk of the data is provided in the accompanying spreadsheet, which can be sorted to identify SOEs by various parameters, such as:

  • department, province or municipality
  • size of the operation;
    • indicated by expenditure/revenue
    • potential ICT users, indicated by number of employees (skilled/unskilled)
    • number of sites /geographic spread
  • ICT spend (as available)
  • Financial risk, as indicated by selected Auditor-General (A-G) ratings
  • ICT opportunity which might be gauged by examining the columns showing ICT plans, or ICT tenders, or the A-G ICT risk or governance columns.
This report is based on secondary research, on a best effort basis. 

The research is based on information (such as it is provided) on SOE websites. Data given is for 2023/24. There are significant information gaps (see note at end) and BMIT complements information with its historical database and long-standing experience in the industry.

 

Table of Contents

Introduction

Disclaimers

Outline of the accompanying spreadsheet information

Bibliography

 

Defining South African SOEs
  • What defines an SOE (state-owned enterprise) in South Africa?
  • Definitions of the types of public entities or SOEs in South Africa
  • National Treasury’s PFMA Schedules classify government entities.
  • Constitutional Institutions are Schedule 1 
  • Schedule 2 SOEs
  • SOE changes in 2022/2023
  • SOE changes in 2024/2025
  • Estimates of SOE numbers in South Africa?
  • What SOEs do
  • How government controls its state-owned entities
Status of South African State-Owned Entities
  • The State Asset Management SOC Ltd
  • Auditor General Notes on the performance and financial state of SOEs in 2023/2024
  • The status of the creation of SDIC
  • State Information Technology Company (SITA) – context and history
  • Round Table Report on ICT in government – recommendations
  • BBI (Broadband Infraco)
  • Sentech – background and data centre expansion plans
National State-Owned Entities
  • Schedule 1 SOEs: Employment and ICT spend for all 10 of the Constitutional Institutions (where available)
  • Schedule 2 SOEs: 21 Major Public Entities and their 47 subsidiaries: table of Employment, ICT spend and Audit outcomes for the top 11
  • Schedule 3A SOEs: 166 National Public Entities including subsidiaries were identified.
    Table showing Employment, ICT spend and Audit outcomes for the 11 entities which have more than 1,000 employees
  • Schedule 3B SOEs: 19 National Government Business Enterprises & 5 subsidiaries: Employment, ICT spend and Audit outcomes for the top 11
Provincial State-Owned Enterprises
  • Schedule 3C SOEs: 47 Provincial Public Entities including subsidiaries.
  • Employment, ICT spend and Audit outcomes for the top 10
  • Schedule 3D SOEs: 28 Provincial Government Business Entities
  • Employment, ICT spend and Audit outcomes for the top 11
Municipal State-Owned Enterprises
  • Municipal SOEs: 56 Municipal Entities
    Employment, ICT spend and Audit outcomes for the top 11
Big Deals in the SOEs in 2021-2025
  • SOE ICT deals over R500m in the past 3 years
Related Research
  • BMIT SA ICT Spend in National and Provincial Government 2024
  • BMIT SA ICT Spend in Local Government 2024
Research team

The team for this research Christopher Geerdts and Konanani Ratshikhopha. This team has extensive sector experience in this field, having conducted these studies annually for more than a decade.

Further information

For further information and details on how to subscribe to this research please contact Anita Mathews |011 540 8000 | 082 466 2317 | anita@bmit.africa

For more information on BMI TechKnowledge and our research and consulting services please visit www.bmit.africa

Please note the research limitations for this report:

The research is based on data from SOE websites. A best effort attempt has been made to provide the most recent available data. However, a number of SOEs are slow in posting their annual reports online, many lagging by several years.

BMIT typically estimates the size of the total spend of markets addressed but is unable to size the total ICT spend of the SOE market due to significant reporting gaps. Where ICT spend information could be ascertained, it is included in the accompanying spreadsheet. Due to the high level of fiscal and operational uncertainty surrounding many SOEs, modelling was not considered viable.

Most of the ICT data was obtained from annual reports. There is no compunction to supply ICT data in an annual report, so it is frequently not available. Where it is given, secondary research does, obviously, not allow for any clarification of terminology such as ‘Computer expenses’, ‘IT spend’ or ‘Communications’. In some cases, assumptions must be made. Thus, ICT spend data provided in the spreadsheet accompanying this report should be considered indicative rather than exact. Where available, information is given on the future ICT plans as described in the annual performance plans. Tenders awarded or current, are also detailed.

Given the high number of SOEs, only those SOEs with a larger scale of operation have been updated, updates having been made on about 240 SOEs.  Further information can be sought on SOEs listed, by arrangement.

BMIT has attempted to identify as full a range of SOEs as possible. Given the dearth of reliable ICT data, size is determined based on number of employees. 

SOEs are frequently a topic of discussion in the media, whether in terms of alleged and/or investigated corruption, or because of perceived poor performance leading to issues such as load shedding, water shortages, rail, road, port and other logistics shortcomings, or, on a positive note, due to exciting developments.

Many SOEs have, in recent years, been placed under business rescue, or liquidation, or are loss-making and have required bailout of one sort or another. To ensure clarity and completeness, this report does include in its listings some SOEs with uncertain futures, or even a few which are not currently operational. Where relevant, a brief explanation of the business status of SOEs is given.