One of the ways in which government makes money for the national coffers is through the use of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs). This is mainly businesses run by entities on behalf of the government. These entities are service providers expected to collect and bring revenue for the government.
For this reason, therefore, it is necessary to monitor the activities and affairs of these entities to ensure that the services they provide are up to standards and that the dividends are paid into government coffers as they should.
The truth is that if such entities are not bringing revenue that can benefit the public, then they are more of a liability to the state than assets. Why must a country keep such entities if they have to be bailed out all the time; or if they are not serving the public as expected. It would be better to get rid of such entities and replace them with ones that will generate income for the public.
Very often, there are reports in the media about State Owned Enterprises which seem to be wasting a lot of resources without any output worthy of mention. Also, a lot of corruption cases in these entities keep appearing in the news. One will recall the cases of the Gambia Ferry Services (GFS), the Gambia Ports Authority (GPA) and the most recent being GPPC.
A series of serious allegations of misappropriation by the management of GPPC has been leveled by the new chairman of the Board of Directors. These allegations range from purchases of equipment without following due process to the contracting of companies and the appointment of an individual all without following the due process.
These have resulted in the depletion of the coffers of the corporation to an extent that they almost always have to take overdrafts in order to enable them pay salaries which sometimes go to the following month. There are also allegations of loans being taken without following regulations.
It’s high time the SOEC puts in mechanisms to regulate the operations of SOEs with strict measures to curb any wrongdoings in the future.
