The Controller of Statutory Corporations has called on various state corporations in the country to move from financial dependence, saying government expects the companies to be generating revenue and not begging for bailouts.
The call was made on Monday at a meeting between the department of statutory corporations and board chairpersons of state corporations which took place at Sunbird Nkopola Lodge in Mangochi district.
Peter Simbani, Controller of Statutory Corporations, said government expects corporations to be financially independent so that the country can make progress in as far as expenditure is concerned.
“It is unfortunate that when government is expecting you to generate revenue and contribute to the growth of the economy, most state corporations are struggling and expecting bailouts from treasury,” he said.
Simbani added that during their discussions, he expected participants to share ideas and generate proposed solutions and strategies that will help transform their institutions.
The Controller of Statutory Corporations further called on the board chairpersons to assist government in the fight against corruption by ensuring that procurements are done properly based on the approved procurement plans.
On his part, Dickson Vuwa Phiri, Board Chair for the National Library Service who also chairs board of state corporations, said for almost three years they have held the positions, the board chairpersons have made more efforts on top of the challenges encountered citing management and financial discipline as key works done.
“For the first time people holding these positions are technocrats, have the right qualifications and are well experienced in the fields they are hence dealing with issues in various institutions which the board oversees has been different to the past,” said Phiri.
Reported by Steve Chirombo
