The committee was informed that the Companies Act does not refer to state- owned companies and that SOCs have to comply with various pieces of legislation enacted by departments other than the Department of Public Enterprises. Such departments include the Department of Energy (Eskom), the Department of Mineral Resources (Alexkor), the Department of Trade and Industry (Procurement), as well as the Constitution. Legislation such as the Preferential Procurement Framework Act, Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act and the Companies Act made it difficult for entities to efficiently advance their developmental role as they are treated as private companies. The department was the only one that had no legislative basis for its existence, and there was no government policy on state-ownership.