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Parastatals reform pace gathers speed

Business
GOVERNMENT is hunting for a consultant to conduct a feasibility study on corporate governance compliance by State-owned enterprises and parastatals, to quicken the pace in reforming a constituency which has been draining the fiscus a government document reveals.

GOVERNMENT is hunting for a consultant to conduct a feasibility study on corporate governance compliance by State-owned enterprises and parastatals, to quicken the pace in reforming a constituency which has been draining the fiscus a government document reveals.

BY BUSINESS REPORTER

Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa
Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa

Parastatals and State-owned enterprises are a breeding ground for corruption and a place for “jobs for the boys”, where corporate governance is a foreign concept.

In a recent notice, government said it was intending to use part of the UA3,2 million (about $4,6 million) grant from the African Development Bank. The grant to finance the Institutional Support for State Enterprises Reform and Delivery Project (ISERDP) was released early this year.

“The government of Zimbabwe intends to apply part of the agreed amount for these grants to payments under the contract for consultancy services for conducting a feasibility study on the implementation of management information system for corporate governance compliance by state enterprises and parastatals,” it said.

“The government of Zimbabwe through the ministry of Finance and Economic Development now invite eligible consultancy firms to indicate their interest in providing these services.”

In his annual budget review for 2016 and 2017 economic outlook report, Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa said reforming the parastatals was one of the structural reform measures to improve the competitiveness of the economy.

Chinamasa said a reform of the public enterprises would transform them “from perennial loss making and dependency on the fiscus, to contributors of employment creation, exports and tax payment”.

The expected outcomes of the ISERDP include improved governance of State Enterprises and strengthened Result Based Management system, to be achieved through improved corporate governance compliance and performance of state owned enterprises. It said results would be achieved through institutionalised integrated planning and budgeting system and Integrated Results Based Management across government.