Uganda Railways Corporation is among the worst performing. FILE PHOTO | NMG
More than half of Uganda’s public enterprises are costing
taxpayers heavily in losses and would be better managed under
public-private partnerships, says a new report by the Auditor-General.
According
to the report, only 14 out of the 29 state enterprises analysed made
profits in 2018, with Bank of Uganda, National Social Security Fund and
National Water and Sewerage Corporation posting profits of $114,531,000,
$64,829,100 and $13,776,200 respectively.
The worst
performing were Uganda Railways Corporation, Uganda Electricity
Transmission Company Ltd and Civil Aviation Authority with losses of
$25,121,300, $20,259,100 and $5,672,550 respectively.
“There
is a need for government to improve on supervision and monitoring of
these entities by introducing performance-based contracts with clear
targets. In addition, the government could also explore public-private
partnerships,” read the report.
In addition to making losses, a number of companies are unable to meet their long-term debt.
“Four
state enterprises had debt ratios of more than 50 per cent, implying
that their total assets were insufficient to cover their total debt.
These were Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Ltd, Uganda
Electricity Generation Company Ltd, Uganda Electricity Transmission
Company Ltd and National Water and Sewerage Corporation,” said AG John
Muwanga.
All the state enterprises are independently managed, but are
expected to operate efficiently, make profits and pay dividends to the
government.
“Out of the 17 profit making enterprises,
only New Vision Printing and Publishing Company proposed a dividend
payout amounting to $540,243,” said Mr Muwanga.
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