Sell of state owned enterprises assets worrisome

Some of these SOEs have been investigated by law enforcement, especially the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime for fiscal and revenue crimes and or corruption. Some have or are still being grossly mismanaged. The problem afflicting SOEs have spread to other parastatals which are not necessarily of enterprise nature in various sectors.

The proliferation of parastatals in the 1970s and 1980s was seen by developmental commentators as necessary given the poverty background of the country. However, in many cases these parastatals especially public enterprises have inhibited the growth of the private sector. These have also been used to reward cronies in a neopatrimonialism kind of system where management positions are given to friends, relatives and the politically connected.