Some members of the National Council called for a comprehensive review of the objectives and roles and responsibilities of the State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) in the country. According to them, this will avoid politicising the establishment of SOEs and overlapping functions between the SOEs and ministries.
As per the National Council’s Natural Resources and Environment Committee’s interim report of the SOEs, currently, there are many SOEs established where citizens opinioned the establishments for executing political pledges.
“Some of the SOE’s mandates, responsibilities and targets are very much similar to the role and objectives of government offices. The review also found that some of the SOEs were established to gain political mileage,” said Tirtha Man Rai, the chairperson of the Natural Resources and Environment Committee of the National Council.
“The committee may also research and see whether a particular SOE had provided services or not. If this is not done, there is a risk of SOEs getting politicised in the future. If a particular SOE is providing beneficial services to the people, the government should support such enterprises. But some enterprises are neither benefiting the people nor the government in any way. Such kind of SOEs should be invalidated,” added Jigme Wangchuk, the Deputy Chairperson of the National Council.
Some members also recommended the committee look into each company’s annual performance agreement to see if they have fulfilled the mandates of profit-making and corporate social responsibility. They said this will draw a clear picture of the SOEs’ performances and will allow the government in deciding whether to privatize the better-performing companies or support the ones that are challenged in fulfilling the mandates.
“For example, BBS and Kuensel may not be able to generate the desired or required income but their primary role is to disseminate news and inform the people. So they are important. The committee reported that some SOEs are receiving government subsidies despite generating profit. Such SOEs could be changed into private sectors after research and viability. If there are a duplication of activities or objectives between government offices and the SOEs, they should be removed,” said Lhaki Dolma, the Member of Parliament (MP) of Punakha.
“The committee should see how the SOEs are providing essential services to the people and also if they have the opportunity to do business to generate income. If an SOE is providing essential services to the people but does not have enough budget to sustain by itself, the government should support such SOEs. The committee could also identify which SOEs are providing upfront services to the people,” added Surjaman Thapa, the Dagana MP.
As per the annual performance report of the SOEs, the revenue from the SOEs had decreased by Nu 176 M in 2019. As a result, the government provided increased subsidy amounting to Nu 348 M to the SOEs.
Today there are 38 SOEs in operation.
The Natural Resources and Environment Committee will present a complete review report of the SOEs for deliberation during the winter session of the parliament.
Tshering Dendup/Karma Wangdi/Phub Gyem
