By Ragan M. Conteh

The Deputy Leader of the opposition in Parliament, Hon. Daniel Brima Koroma says “the issue of State Owned Enterprises (SOEs)” in relation to a Bill entitled State Owned Enterprises and Governance Bill, “is a matter of public interests.”

Hon Koroma has urged Parliament to summon some SOEs to give explanations of their ineffectiveness in the sector.

He added that regardless of the countless challenges within our State-Owned Enterprises sector, there are still some success stories to tell, while referencing Sierra Leone Commercial Bank, National Petroleum, and Rokel Commercial Bank. He said Parliament should invite some of those institutions to explain their success stories for others to emulate.

He ended by saying that the Bill should be sent to the Legislative Committee stage for further probing.

In rounding up the debate on the side of the Government bench, the Deputy Leader of Government Business, Hon. Saa Emerson Lamina, said that the Bill is now the property of Parliament and that Parliament has the liberty to properly scrutinize it for the people of Sierra Leone. He said there is high financial instability contained in the Bill, which needs to be addressed by Members of Parliament.

Referencing clause 23 of the Bill, he said the proposed legislation makes provisions for performance contracts to be made in the sector. He called on the legislative committee to properly examine the Bill to benefit the people of Sierra Leone. Responding to issues raised by Members of Parliament, the Deputy Minister of Finance 2, Bockarie Kalokoh, assured the House of proper consideration.

Using Standing Order 51(1), the Bill was sent to the Legislative Committee for thorough consideration before it is being passed into law.

Presenting the Bill, the Deputy Minister of Finance 2, Bockarie Kalokoh said the Government of Sierra Leone owns about 24 enterprises and that despite all efforts by the government, these institutions still face a lot of challenges that affect the operations of the government.

He said the document primarily aims at reforming state-owned enterprises’ operations. “The policy is to enhance transparency and accountability,” he said. He added that the Bill also seeks to ensure efficient service delivery in the country.

In his debate, the Chairman of the Finance Committee, Hon. France Amara Kaisamba, said state-owned enterprises are either owned or partly owned by the government.

He said state-owned enterprises were doing well in the past, but later started to depreciate, which gave the government the choice to privatize some of them.

“To reform the state-owned enterprises is a laudable venture, “he said.