The delay in restructuring State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) has become a burden for the people; Advocata Institute Chief Executive Officer Dhananath Fernando told a media briefing on ‘Taxpayer burden and the urgency of State Owned Enterprise Reform,’ held at the BMICH on Wednesday.
It was revealed that 52 state owned enterprises have reported a staggering cumulative loss of Rs.744.6 billion in 2022 according to the annual reports of the Ministry of Finance and Inland Revenue Department. “If the loss is divided by the number of the population each citizen should pay Rs.33,000 each year to recover this loss. Whoever is in power, the restructuring of State institutions is a must,” Fernando added.
At this economic juncture, the necessity for SOE reforms is not just a matter of economic prudence; but it is a matter of national importance.
The IMF in their reform agenda for Sri Lanka has also stressed the importance of SOE reform and the delaying of the restructuring process would not be taken up favorably by the IMF. Financial Journalist Shihar Aneez “The delay in SOE restructuring caused a lot of pain in the public. Also we don’t know the time frame for the SOE reforms. Now we were expecting things to happen mid this year. But without the SOE act plus several other acts yet to be passed in the Parliament we are entering into the election cycle. So, we are also entering into uncertain territory where we don’t know where things will move and whether things will actually move.”
“In the past, we have seen different governments coming up with different policies. When the government changes, the policies change and then again there are debates and arguments and they never go through with these policies. We don’t know whether the same thing will happen to the SOEs, the way things are going. The pace is very slow. Things are not moving very fast and everyday you delay this, the burden is on the public.”
“At this economic juncture, the necessity for SOE reforms is not just a matter of economic prudence, it is a matter of national importance. Without swift and comprehensive SOE reforms, the authorities risk prolonging Sri Lanka’s current economic downturn.”
Thushan Jayasuriya