MONROVIA: A new Report bordering on the status, and operations of State-Owned Enterprises (SOE), indicates that though the SOE Sector remains a significant catalyst in the socio-economic development and growth of Liberia, the compliance level of state-owned entities remains low, with only eighteen of the forty-six entities.
The low level of compliance has been attributed to the current weak legal and regulatory capacity of the Bureau of State Enterprises (BSE) to fully exercise its statutory oversight role.
However, the report said, BSE continues to make efforts to strengthen the sector’s legal and governance framework to expand coverage to the remaining twenty -eight entities.
According to the Bureau of State Enterprises (BSE) Portfolio of State-owned Enterprises Annual Aggregate Performance report, “SOEs are currently using financial reporting standards for accounting and financial reporting.
“Therefore, it is difficult to compare their financial statements on a like-for-like basis,” added the report, signed by Mr. Arthur S. Massaquoi, Director General.
Thus, to ensure the harmonization of financial reporting across the sector, the BSE continues to make meaningful efforts, with assistance of development partners, to help prepare the IFRS or the Accrual Basis IPSAS.
The Bureau also continued its efforts towards sourcing funding for the of the SOE Management Information System (SOEMIS).
With the SOEMIS, the Bureau will ensure the harmonization of the SOEs financial statements to ensure compliance with IFRS.
According to the report, the responsibility of the government to allocate scarce public resources to address critical national development issues is now more critical than ever.
“The country continues to be faced with increasing demands for social services, opportunities for employment, a good healthcare system, access to education, and an affordable cost of living, among other national priorities,” the report added.
As regards the aggregate financial performance of the Sector, the report asserted that the portfolio’s aggregate gross operating revenue fell by 25 percent from USD 166.34 million in FY2022 to USD124.53 million in FY2023.
According to the report, this lower figure reported for the FY2023 can be attributed to the failure of six of the eighteen entities to submit their annual reports.
Over the last five years, the sector’s aggregate gross operating revenue also declined by a CAGR of 7 percent from about USD175.68 million, posting its peak performance in FY2021 at USD196.35 million.
The total amount of the aggregate gross operating revenue transferred by SOEs to the CFA from revenue-sharing Agreements across the sector was USD23.51 million, 7 percent down from USD25.26 million in 2022.
Shares of the gross operating revenue also transferred to the BSE and other parties during the year were about USD0.11 million and USD10.19 million, respectively. The Sector’s resulting net operating revenue4 for expenditure stood at USD90.72 million, 31 percent down from USD 131.14 million recorded I FY2022.
