Monrovia, Liberia - Liberia's Acting Finance and Development Planning Minister, Hon. Anthony G. Myers, has urged all state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to align their corporate strategies with the ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development across the country.
Minister Myers made these remarks at the opening of a day-long workshop for all SOEs, organized by the Expenditure Monitoring Unit at the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, on July 23, 2024.
According to Minister Myers, SOEs remain a crucial part of Liberia's economic growth, responsible for generating millions in revenue annually. "SOEs are government-owned and encompass several sectors of the economy," he added.
He emphasized that all SOEs across the country must provide services with accountability as a key factor to drive the economy and improve service delivery to the Liberian people.
The workshop's objective was to conduct a detailed public expenditure review of all SOEs within the government, assessing their capacity in terms of contribution to the national budget, revenue-generating capacity, investment activities, and other expenditures.
Also speaking at the event, Assistant Finance Minister for Expenditure, Hon. Dede Sandiman, encouraged SOEs to enhance their contributions to the national budget to support development. "We are all gathered to discuss the current constraints and challenges that need to be resolved to support the country's agenda for inclusive development," said Hon. Sandiman.
Assistant Minister Sandiman stressed that the budget gives the authority to the Bureau of State Enterprise & Authority to have full regulation of the SOEs.
The specific goals of Tuesday training include investigating the extent to which generated resources are used for their intended purposes, assessing SOEs' contributions to the national budget, evaluating compliance with public financial management regulations and policies, gauging SOEs' social corporate responsibilities (projects/investments), reviewing year-end balances, understanding the investment activities affecting national budget contributions, and making policy recommendations based on the findings.