Parastatal watchdog finally to get some teeth

THE long-awaited State-Owned Enterprises law is to be introduced in Parliament next week.The law, which has been in the pipeline for a number of years, aims to tighten the overseeing mechanisms of parastatals.

It comes at a time when the performance and financial position of several State-owned enterprises (SOEs) is in the spotlight. Prime Minister Nahas Angula told the National Assembly yesterday that the bill he will present to the House on Wednesday will make provision for the restructuring and efficient governance of SOEs.Furthermore it will formally establish the SOE Governance Council and define its powers, duties and functions.Although the Corporate Governance Agency (CGA) was set up some years ago as an SOE watchdog, it has no legal backing to intervene in their affairs.This bill will now provide the support for action to be taken against SOE who don’t perform.In September, Angula also announced the restructuring of Cabinet committees to include one on SOEs to deal specifically with monitoring their performance, management and declaration of dividends.Several Namibian parastatals have over the years found themselves in perpetual financial trouble, while others fail to perform to expected levels because of poor management and maladministration.As a result, Government has been forced to fork out millions of dollars in bailouts to parastatals that cannot get by on their annual budgetary allocations.Prime Minister Nahas Angula told the National Assembly yesterday that the bill he will present to the House on Wednesday will make provision for the restructuring and efficient governance of SOEs.Furthermore it will formally establish the SOE Governance Council and define its powers, duties and functions.Although the Corporate Governance Agency (CGA) was set up some years ago as an SOE watchdog, it has no legal backing to intervene in their affairs.This bill will now provide the support for action to be taken against SOE who don’t perform.In September, Angula also announced the restructuring of Cabinet committees to include one on SOEs to deal specifically with monitoring their performance, management and declaration of dividends.Several Namibian parastatals have over the years found themselves in perpetual financial trouble, while others fail to perform to expected levels because of poor management and maladministration.As a result, Government has been forced to fork out millions of dollars in bailouts to parastatals that cannot get by on their annual budgetary allocations.