(Published in MTimes 07 12 2018)
Governance matters. Government lays the foundation, Government sets the framework but good governance cannot be imposed from the outside; it must be constantly nurtured, inculcated, advocated and goaded if we want to reap its benefits. This government does not seem to believe in good governance and we should not be surprised that we have reached such levels of “satisfactory underperformance” of State Owned Enterprises(SOEs) –institutions that are not held fully accountable for their performance. SIFB,IBA, SIC, MBC….you name it and you will come up every week with a new one joining the long list of defaulters and under-performers.
Why does every government have to undo what the previous one has done and considers it a necessity to start from scratch again lest the credit goes to institutions set up by its predecessor ?
The ex-Office of Public Sector Governance, working closely with the World Bank (WB) was doing a good job of painstakingly putting up the framework for promoting and monitoring the implementation of good Corporate Governance practices in SOEs and supporting the development of a cost effective and outcome-oriented public sector. With the help of the WB, they had an action plan that encouraged a gradual approach within a framework that held sector ministries and SOEs accountable, fostered a dialogue among all stakeholders and clearly defined the efficiency gains that must be achieved by each SOE.
Some of the main elements of Action Plan were as follows:
• The classification the Public Entities for e.g into commercial Public Enterprises and non commercial Public Entities
• Updating the Public Financial Management to clarify the ownership relationships between the state and SOEs
• All SOEs were to have strategic plans and business plans with well-defined Key Performance Indicators
• Each SOE should conclude a “Corporate Objectives Statement” (COS). This COS must be agreed to by the board and the parent Ministry.
• Improved monitoring using the Parastatal Information Management System (PIMS) to gather relevant, accurate, and up-to-date information to benchmark their performance and monitor efficiency gains and the development of an SOE Corporate Governance scorecard.
• Reform plans for underperforming SOEs
• a structured process for nominating SOE boards and a register for a Director’s Database for SOEs……
Such work should have been maintained and we would have had a lesser number of SOE scandals and improprieties in our midst today. Better managed public sector organisations reflect on the performance of Government as a whole. Such institutions as the OPSG were also part of the dynamism that was built by strengthening the capabilities of public bodies to establish appropriate mechanisms to control corruption while ensuring that they move to a higher plane of openness and trust, and, above all, a new sense of commitment to moral and ethical values. Indeed , if we want to see progress, good governance has to be driven and nurtured. The good example must come from above.
