“Let us sell the companies,” DNA member Poetini Atompai stated on Thursday in parliament during the budget debate regarding loss-making state-owned enterprises.
Atompai pointed out that the state manages approximately 160 companies and a large portion of these are loss-making, requiring the state to subsidize these companies by millions every month. “It is constantly stated that there is no money in the country, yet millions are subsidized to state-owned enterprises that contribute nothing to the state treasury.”
He also expressed concern regarding the boards and executives of these companies, who earn thousands of US dollars but produce nothing for the state. “This is unacceptable and we must change this system. You cannot invest money in a company that does not generate profits,” Atompai said.
The previous government already had plans to privatize approximately 30 parastatal companies and government institutions, but this decision was shelved due to heavy criticism from the opposition at the time.
Former Minister of Finance and Planning Stanley Raghoebarsing stated in the context of this decision that some state-owned enterprises must remain under state management, while others should simply be privatized. This would allow for reductions in the state budget and provide the private sector with the opportunity to produce.
