By ZBC Reporter
PRESIDENT Mnangagwa says the review of state enterprises and parastatals ownership model is important towards promoting greater efficiency and roles in line with Vision 2030 of attaining an upper-middle-income economy.
Officially opening the virtual summit, President Mnangagwa noted that the review of the ownership model comes in the wake of the need to overhaul parastatals and state enterprises.
“This important seminar convened to expose members of my cabinet to ownership models of state-owned enterprises and parastatals towards enhancing the operation of these entities. The review of the ownership model has been necessitated by the need to overhaul corporate governance culture within state enterprises and parastatals in our quest to ensure productivity, efficiency, accountability, profitability and relevance in the context of vision 2030,” he said.
He stressed that the review has to take into account Zimbabwe’s unique situation, principally that wrought by illegal sanctions while also meant to acquaint Cabinet Ministers with issues around re-modelling parastatals and State Enterprises for the realisation of national goals and interests.
“Let us, therefore, revisit the strategic importance of various state enterprises through the lens of successful countries that have transformed sop and parastatals through the adoption of appropriate ownership models. In learning from others let us be mindful of our unique national realities in particular that our country conti9nueto be subjected to illegal economic sanctions.
“It is upon this background that this workshop has been convened to give my cabinet ministers an appropriate appreciation of the technical aspects associated with various ownership models associated with state enterprises and parastatals, hereafter cabinet is expected to make informed decisions which achieved the intricate balance between commercial viability and national interest,” he said.
President said Zimbabwe has over 107 state enterprises and parastatals spread across strategic areas hence the need to ensure they contribute immensely towards the growth of the economy.
“My government is implementing comprehensive reforms across socio-economic and political sectors as we accelerated the attainment of vison 2030. Transitional Stabilisation Programme 2018-2020 affirmed the ownership position with regards to state enterprises and parastatals and reinforced government’s commitment to its implementation. As you are aware that state enterprises and parastatals are a prominent feature in Zimbabwe economy with footprints across the economic spectrum of our country.
“Presently there are over 107 sops most of which are key anchors and enablers of the economy. These have the potential to contribute over 40 percent to the country of GDP given their spread and rich they are efficient performance is crucial to the modernisation, industrialisation and development of the robust rural system and the growth of our economy as a whole,” he said.
He urged stakeholders to work on ways of strengthening governance structures as well as administrative frameworks to ensure state enterprises are vibrant locally and internationally through contributing towards the growth of the country’s economy.
“We must therefore work concertedly to strengthen structural governance and administrative frameworks of these entities through various strategies which include selecting the most suitable ownership model. In addition, Public Entities and Corporate Governance Act must reinforce good corporate governance practices within the sector. Let us equally be mindful of the need to create top-notch enterprises that can successfully compete for global capital while producing goods that can penetrate the international value chains,” he said.
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