Government's silence is costing a generation

SOUTH Africa has seen too many state-owned companies collapse to be surprised by PetroSA’s crisis.

- NYANISO QWESHA

The warning signs have been there for years, chaotic leadership, revolving-door executives, politically influenced boards, and murky procurement battles.

But PetroSA’s decay is not just another SOE failure. It is a national risk, with devastating social consequences, and the government's indecision is letting an entire generation in the Garden Route slip into despair.

PetroSA was never an ordinary company. Its gas-to-liquids refinery in Mossel Bay was a world-class engineering achievement. It generated jobs, revenue, and pride. For decades, families in Mossel Bay, George, and surrounding towns built their futures around it. Young people believed it was a door to stability and opportunity. Entire communities depended on its economic gravity.

Today, that anchor is gone. The refinery is idle. Training programmes are frozen. Job opportunities have vanished. And the South African Revenue Service's (Sars) recent compliance actions have exposed what PetroSA’s leadership has long tried to hide: internal controls are broken, governance has collapsed, and the company is no longer a functioning strategic asset.