Windhoek
Chairman of the Public Enterprises Chief Executive Officers’ Forum Dr Audrin Mathe yesterday proposed the establishment of a universal medical aid and pension fund for the close to 15 000 employees of the 97 state-owned enterprises in the country.
Speaking at the Forum’s second annual general assembly, Mathe, who was last night elected as chairperson of the Forum, said employees of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are scattered across different medical aid funds and pay high medical aid fees to these funds.
He asked, as another example of cooperation, why the National Youth Services and their guards cannot be given preference of guarding properties and assets of all SOEs, instead of contracting private companies for these jobs.
Another example of intra-SOE cooperation cited by Mathe would be where SOEs advertise with state-owned media houses, so that public money rotates within state and semi-state coffers.
Mathe, who is also CEO of New Era Publication Corporation (NEPC), said that in 2013 Namibian SOEs had a combined N$35 billion in assets – a figure that today stands at a massive N$53 billion.
“The challenge must be on ourselves to see how to help each institution to excel. Support should start with us. We need to come to concrete resolutions at forums like this,” Mathe said.
“The forums must not be a tea party and a photo event but we must culminate it into ideas to advance public enterprises,” he said.
Minister of Public Enterprises Leon Jooste, who launched the Forum’s meeting, spoke out against trigger-happy boards of directors who are in the habit of dismissing CEOs at the slightest provocation.
He said in future no CEO of an institution falling under his ministry would be dismissed without his approval.
“I have already issued a circular about the suspensions of chief executive officers. No CEO should be suspended without following procedures and without approval from the Minister of Public Enterprises,” he said.
“These suspensions are detrimental to the performance and success of our public enterprises.”
He urged the Forum to break new grounds on how to turn the tide when it comes to governance issues facing public enterprises.
“The success of HPP [Harambee Prosperity Plan] depends on the successful execution of all projects by public enterprises,” he said.
Jooste added that government acknowledges that much has been done to consolidate democracy through putting into place institutions for good governance and brilliant service delivery.
“We are aware of the challenges of poverty and inequality as it hampers the quest to become a prosperous nation by the year 2030.”
He urged the heads of institutions to rise up to the occasion to make a contribution in order for the country to achieve the overall vision. He said government has come up with clear objectives and performing practices that must be achieved over the next four years.
“Public enterprises are important components for achieving the Harambee Prosperity Plan as they are equipped with technical, financial, commercial and legal resources to carry out the task under HPP.”
He said he trusts that the Forum will assist all stakeholders to deal with some of the difficult governance challenges facing public enterprises today.