Govt. on right path to restructuring SOEs

THE Government is pushing ahead with its decision to restructure Government-owned enterprises with Cabinet approval to appoint a four-member ministerial committee to review the 'State Commercial Enterprises Management Draft Bill' which will enable the liquidation of some of the loss-making bodies and restructuring of others.

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The Government has said that these State enterprises should be restructured and maintained with proper administration with the assistance of local or foreign investments without being a continuous burden to the General Treasury and the country's economy.

Earlier a Cabinet appointed committee headed by Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya that looked into reforming State-owned non-commercial institutions recommended the liquidation of 12 non-commercial states, amalgamation of several others as well as the restructuring of some others.

Among the recommendations was that the three State-owned media institutions, namely the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation, the Rupavahini Corporation and the Independent Television Network, be placed under a single management so as to improve efficiency and make them commercially viable.

Other institutes recommended for amalgamation are the Sri Lanka Tea Board and the Tea Small Holdings Development Authority, as well as the Coconut Cultivation Board, Coconut Development Authority and the Palmyra Development Board.