Accountable management of government-owned commercial enterprises
The appointment of President Maithripala Sirisena’s brother, Mr P.G. Kumarasingha, as Chair of one of the largest commercial enterprises that is majority-owned by the government has caused some dismay among proponents of good governance.
Mr. Kumarasinghe has asked that he be judged on performance and has shown his laminated certificates to journalists, seeking to justify his appointment.
He can go beyond that. What he should do is to commit to a performance contract with specific deliverables promised on specific dates, something similar to the 100-day programme that was the centerpiece of his brother’s manifesto. It need not be limited to 100 days since President Sirisena has a six year term ahead of him.
The contract could, for example, provide performance metrics that are completely under the control of the Chair, such as transparency on the various sponsorships provided by SLT, the advertising outlays, corporate social responsibility, and so on. He could also take a little time to study the disclosure practices of companies that meet the highest standards of corporate good governance and commit to implementing a subset.
If he so wishes, he could also commit to performance at the level of the company, for example, in terms of quality of service metrics such as broadband download and upload speeds and latency. This may be justified because SLT is a company whose majority shares are held by Treasury and he has not been appointed solely to maximise return on investment. Specific targets on environmentally-friendly practices may also be proposed.
Because Sri Lanka Telecom is one of the largest government-owned commercial enterprises in the country, Mr. Kumarasinghe’s actions will have widespread impact. They are likely to be emulated by other government-owned enterprises.
Therefore, various entities with expertise in, and commitment to, good corporate governance such as the Institute of Directors and the various Institutes of Accountants, including the one in which Mr. Kumarasinghe holds membership, should provide the fullest cooperation in helping the new Chair of SLT develop an exemplary performance contract. Independent auditors may be appointed to monitor performance relative to the contract. I am sure there will be many highly qualified volunteers.
It is one thing to talk about good governance in the abstract. What is more important is to come up with practical and pragmatic solutions. Mr. Kumarasinghe wants to be judged on his performance. Let’s take his wishes seriously and help him. This could turn out to be a turning point in the professional management of government-owned commercial enterprises in Sri Lanka.
(The writer is chair of LIRNEasia, a regional policy and regulation think tank and former Director General of Telecom and Team Leader at Ministry for Economic Reforms, Science and Technology.)