Conflicts of interest in appointments to SOEs

EVER since the 2022 economic crisis, the performance of SOEs has become a contentious topic of discussion and debate within the public discourse. The continuous losses of public entities have resulted in taxpayers having to inject capital by paying higher amounts of taxes to the Treasury.

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Last week, Parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises Chairman Dr. Harsha de Silva disclosed that State-run SriLankan Airlines which is considered as a financial black hole - was incurring losses on 31 out of the 45 routes it is operating. The 2025 Budget set aside Rs. 20 billion to repay old debts and interests of the beleaguered national carrier.

One particular area which has not received adequate attention is the appointment of individuals with clear conflicts of interest to top decision making positions in Government commercial businesses. The NPP administration since gaining power has handpicked people with apparent conflicts of interest to key positions of SOEs. In fact, some of those who have been appointed to lead a few Government enterprises happen to be prominent executive officers who are involved in the management of privately-owned businesses which compete with the very Government businesses they are in charge of.