BudgIT, CSJ Advocate For Fiscal Transparency In State-Owned Enterprises

State-owned enterprises (SOEs) are undertakings owned or controlled by the government, and designed to pursue financial objectives by commercial means.
In Nigeria, because SOEs are owned and managed by the government through its officials, their performance may come along with inefficiency relatively common in government. What is more, SOE managers may not be held accountable for infractions or even to improve performance.
SOEs rank among the largest companies in the world, often serving as some of the biggest employers in their country. They are central to the daily lives of citizens, providing critical goods and public services in sectors such as transport, utilities, telecommunications and health.
When SOEs work inefficiently due to corruption and other malpractice, ordinary citizens feel the impact: trains are delayed, households go without power or water, and the sick are deprived of essential medical treatment.
According to the World Bank, economies with inadequate governance and low accountability of SOEs tend to face poor delivery of essential public services, stifled competitiveness and restricted economic growth, as well as increased opportunities for political patronage and corruption. One of the key challenges that countries are facing in building effective state ownership is to ensure proper governance and transparency of SOEs.
It was for this reason that BudgIT Nigeria recently hosted representatives from the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), Dataphyte, PPDC and other CSOs in Nigeria at a dialogue meeting where they discussed leveraging advocacy and engagements with various stakeholders for improvements in SOE budgeting and fiscal transparency.
Stakeholders agree that reliable financial information is essential for establishing the accountability mechanisms, allowing well-informed decision making on the part of management, board of directors, government acting as shareholder, potential and current investors and lenders, as well as civil society and citizens, as ultimate owners of SOEs.
The meeting highlights BudgIT findings on the state of fiscal transparency in SOEs; and collaborations to create an advocacy roadmap in the improvement of fiscal transparency of State-owned Enterprises.