ISLAMABAD: The Cabinet Committee on State-Owned Enterprises (CCoSOEs) on Monday directed the concerned ministries/ divisions to submit proposals for the categorisation of their respective SOEs by May 20, aimed at reviewing the rationale for retaining any commercial functions within the public sector.
The Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb presided over a meeting of CCoSOEs, here on Monday.
The meeting was attended by Minister for Maritime Affairs Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh, Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Khan Cheema, Minister for Housing and Works Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada, governor SBP, chairman SECP, federal secretaries and other senior officers of the relevant ministries.
The primary agenda of the meeting was to conduct a review of implementation of the State-Owned Enterprises Policy, 2023, and the periodic evaluation of financial and operational performance across SOEs.
The Chairman Cabinet Committee on SOEs, Muhammad Aurangzeb, directed the concerned ministries/ divisions to submit proposals for the categorisation of their respective SOEs by May 20th. This step is aimed at reviewing the rationale for retaining any commercial functions within the public sector. The objective is to retain only the essential functions within the public sector and to assign the remaining functions to the private sector. At the same time, the entities which remain in public sector have to be more competitive, accountable, and responsive to the needs of citizens.
The Central Monitoring Unit of Finance Division presented its ongoing work on the compilation of the Federal SOE Annual Financial Report for fiscal year 2023. The DG CMU informed the meeting that the data of all commercial entities has been obtained and collated, while the analytical work was currently underway.
The committee was briefed on the highlights of the performance of SOEs during the reporting period.
The chairman noted that there were a number of gaps in governance and financial management of companies, which needed to be addressed immediately. He directed that the vacancies on the BOD’s should be filled without delay. He also directed that the companies that had not had their accounts independently audited should ensure that the audits are completed forthwith.
The chairman emphasised that continued losses and fiscal haemorrhage had to be stopped as a national priority. Therefore, SOEs restructuring and privatisation agenda needed to be expedited in order to improve the efficiency of these entities. The committee directed the CMU to finalise and publish the report at the earliest after including the requisite analytical portions prescribed under the SOE Policy.
The meeting concluded with a commitment to fostering transparency, efficiency, and sustainable growth within the state-owned enterprises, reflecting the government’s dedication to ensuring the optimal utilisation of public resources.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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