09 Jul 2025

The Vice President and Minister of Finance, Mr Ndaba Gaolathe has said only 14 out of 45 reviewed State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) are compliant with the King III Code of governance principles, which was adopted by the authority to fulfill the mandate of compliance.

Answering a question in Parliament yesterday, he said furthermore, in an attempt to promote corporate governance amongst SOEs, PEEPA has developed corporate compliance framework to be implemented by all SOEs. The minister said in the meantime, the agency was exploring additional ways to engage with the SOEs to get the requested information, including follow-up outreach or alternative methods.

Mr Gaolathe also pointed out that the government had put in place measures to improve oversight of SOEs by establishing a Cabinet sub-committee to oversee their performance and governance, while efforts to finalise the SOEs ownership policy and corporate governance code are ongoing. He said accounting officers referred the annual reports of SOEs, including audited financial statements, to the committee on statutory bodies and state enterprises for scrutiny.

Molepolole North MP, Mr Arafat Khan had asked the minister to update the house on the status and compliance rate of SOEs on issues of corporate governance, backed by thorough audit processes. He also wanted to know if there were any plans to provide a comprehensive report on the same, especially those that were mandated with management and disbursement of public funds in the form of loans. ENDS