BY DELISA THWALA
MBABANE -The Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg, has come out to say, the Government was seeking to achieve optimal efficiencies and effectiveness in the delivery of certain national services in terms of speed.
He said this during the inaugural roundtable discussion for these institutions organised by the Eswatini Public Enterprises Association (ESPEA).
The discussion was held under the theme ‘Governance and the Effectiveness of Public Enterprises’ and was attended by heads of the SOEs (CEOs and CFOs) as well as Board Members. The Minister was a guest speaker.
He further said the effectiveness in the delivery will also be driven by cost effectiveness and professional approach by setting up semi-autonomous public institutions.
He applauded the ESPEA leadership for picking the theme, which speaks directly to the main reason for their existence
“Leaders of State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) have been encouraged to map out strategies that will ensure that the entities are sustainable in future,” said the Minister.
He thanked the main two speakers for the round table discussion namely Dr Adrian Saville from GIBS and the Auditor General, Timothy Matsebula for agreeing to speak at the event.
Auditor General Timothy Matsebula noted that there was remarkable growth within PEUs over the years as there has been increased compliance with financial regulations of the country.
He noted that individuals who become CEOs of PEUs are not taught how to handle public finances yet once on the job one is expected to master all the aspects of public finance management. He further shared the importance of audited financial statements that help shape the organisations to gain public trust.
GIBS Professor, Dr Adrian Saville also noted, “One of the most powerful weapons we can put in the hands of the Youth is financial literacy.”
Dr Saville stressed the importance of PEUs in ensuring service delivery at all levels as an extension of Government, and encouraged the leaders to be exemplary in accountability for the use of public funds.
