By Kaddijatou Njie
The National Assembly last week adopted the report of the Standing Committee on Public Enterprises (PEC) on a study tour to the Parliament of Botswana.
The objective of the tour is to have a thorough understanding of the role of Parliament, especially the PEC oversight functions in State Owned Enterprises (SOE) including the roles and responsibilities of the various stakeholders.
The chairperson of the Public Enterprises Committee, Hon. Lamin J Sanneh said the Committee visited and had meetings with institutions that are key stakeholders in the performing oversight of the activities of SOEs in Botswana and some key SOEs.
Some of the institutions include the Parliamentary Committee on Statutory Bodies and State Enterprises, AG’s Office, BAOA, PEEPA, SEZA, and BMC adding that this gave the Committee the chance to get first-hand information on how the activities of SOEs are monitored for greater viability, their reporting lines, the role of the Boards in terms of corporate governance and financial oversight, the role of Parliament and the Auditor General’s Office, the role of the Ministry of Finance and how SOEs performs their mandate.
“The Committee noted that the AG’s Office is not mandated to audit the accounts of SOEs instead these accounts are audited by External Auditors appointed by BAOA which is also a State institution. Also, it was noted that there is a Commission mandated to monitor the activities of SOEs and an Agency responsible for advising the government on privatization strategies and also implementation of privatization, the appointment of directors of parastatals, and the government reforming the SOEs”, he explained.
Finally, he said The Committee recommended the following that the SOE Commission adequately evaluate all the 14 SOEs in The Gambia and advise the government on their viability and a way forward, that the AG’s office audit the accounts of the 14 SOEs rather than outsourcing these services to External Auditors, and that the audited financial statements of all 14 SOEs be submitted to the National Assembly latest 31st March of the preceding year as prescribed by the Constitution.
