Revolving fund planned to restructure SOEs
The ministry will develop a draft proposal for the establishment of the revolving fund for cabinet’s consideration and approval.
The ministry of public enterprises (MPE) will develop a revolving fund to restructure and recapitalise state-owned enterprises this year, minister Leon Jooste said in the National Assembly.
Motivating his ministry’s N$40-million budget for 2019/20, Jooste said the revolving fund was needed as public enterprise restructuring is expensive.
The ministry will develop a draft proposal for the establishment of the fund for cabinet’s consideration and approval, he said.
Jooste noted with concern that commercial public enterprises, which are supposed to generate revenue, received a total allocation of NS1.2 billion from the national budget while their total debt was around N$43 billion.
“It is also important to note that in the previous fiscal year, the total return on the assets of the public enterprises portfolio is negative, with a total loss now exceeding an unsustainable N$150 million per annum,” he said.
Recruitment
The ministry also plans to implement a new thorough recruitment process to ensure that the best board members are identified in a transparent process in public enterprises.
“Our current manual database consisting of around 600 potential board members will be transferred to an electronic format,” he added.
Jooste said the ministry would put particular emphasis on ensuring that sector specific board members are appointed to guarantee that a skills balance between the board and the executive is maintained.
The ministry’s mandate is to position Namibia’s key public enterprises to play their meaningful role in the country’s development agenda and ensure that they are well managed to reduce the financial burden on the state, he said.
An amount of nearly N$33 million of the ministry’s N$$40 million share of the national budget was allocated to its policy coordination and support services.
The remaining N$7 million was allocated to its legal economic and financial advisory services. - Nampa
Motivating his ministry’s N$40-million budget for 2019/20, Jooste said the revolving fund was needed as public enterprise restructuring is expensive.
The ministry will develop a draft proposal for the establishment of the fund for cabinet’s consideration and approval, he said.
Jooste noted with concern that commercial public enterprises, which are supposed to generate revenue, received a total allocation of NS1.2 billion from the national budget while their total debt was around N$43 billion.
“It is also important to note that in the previous fiscal year, the total return on the assets of the public enterprises portfolio is negative, with a total loss now exceeding an unsustainable N$150 million per annum,” he said.
Recruitment
The ministry also plans to implement a new thorough recruitment process to ensure that the best board members are identified in a transparent process in public enterprises.
“Our current manual database consisting of around 600 potential board members will be transferred to an electronic format,” he added.
Jooste said the ministry would put particular emphasis on ensuring that sector specific board members are appointed to guarantee that a skills balance between the board and the executive is maintained.
The ministry’s mandate is to position Namibia’s key public enterprises to play their meaningful role in the country’s development agenda and ensure that they are well managed to reduce the financial burden on the state, he said.
An amount of nearly N$33 million of the ministry’s N$$40 million share of the national budget was allocated to its policy coordination and support services.
The remaining N$7 million was allocated to its legal economic and financial advisory services. - Nampa
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