COLOMBO (News 1st) – A conference for the heads of State Owned Enterprises was held in Colombo today. Addressing the event, Minister of Finance and Mass Media Mangala Samaraweera lashed out at the level of mismanagement of the State Owned Enterprises.

The Minister stated that out of the 55 SOEs 39 recorded a net profit amounting to Rs. 136 billion, while 16 made net losses, amounting to Rs. 87 billion in 2017.

He further stated that, despite their strategic importance, SOEs have not achieved full potential. He noted that the lack of good governance practices, lack of clear accountability mechanisms, lack of policy and legal framework as well as weak supervisory roles, had to lead to this situation.

He noted that of the Rs 87bn losses suffered last year by SOE, 84bn could be attributed to 4 SOEs (CEB, SriLankan airlines, Sathosa and the Agrarian Insurance Board). Minister Mangala stated that the cost of inefficiency could not be passed on to the consumer or the general public and that therefore it is essential that SOEs eliminate management inefficiencies prior to the implementation of fully cost-reflective pricing.