New State Management Act to manage state assets
Sri Lanka Government is to introduce a State Asset Management Act to evaluate and properly manage the non financial assets belonging to the state hitherto politically and purposely shut down by successive regimes during the past several decades, a cabinet memorandum revealed.
According to a global wealth report for countries each year , Sri Lanka’s net wealth or assets was around US$351 billion and $50 billion of debt and this was confirmed by several senior Finance Ministry officials adding that a proper assessment has not been made as yet.
The absence of proper screening or constant inspection of state assets as well as material and cost management with constant checking as well as lack management supervision has led to corruption and misappropriation causing massive loss to the state coffers, Finance Ministry sources revealed.
Attempts made by several previous governments to implement a systematic process of developing, operating, maintaining, upgrading and disposing of assets in a cost effective manner has been disrupted due to protests of opposition and trade unions, a senior official of the ministry said.
Maximum utilisation of government lands estimated at 85 per cent of the country’s 6.6 million hectares of land for investment and development activities has so far not utilised properly for the same reason, he pointed out.
In the wake of ill effects of the current economic crises the Government has decided to introduce a new State Asset Management Act with the aim of taking up the leadership and custodianship role in the management of non financial assets belonging to the state, according to the memorandum.
It will enable the Comptroller General’s office of the Finance Ministry to prepare a national asset register and to introduce a central database related to state assets in accordance with the new act.
It has been observed that there were no proper records of the majority of over 400 SOEs operating in several key sectors including power, energy, finance, insurance, water, aviation, health and education etc.
Parliament had authorised the then Mahinda Rajapaksa regime to take over the assets of 37 firms, including two listed companies in 2011 but no official records on the outcome of this initiative were available at present.
Following the enactment of a new Bill, the government will set up a central agency for the management of public assets with the aim of preventing misuse of multiple Government assets over decades.
The new administration has accorded priority to the management of those assets as it could earn much needed revenue to the state with the introduction of this new Act, especially given the ongoing economic crisis, he added.
The new bill provides provisions to expand the duties of the Comptroller General Office, and establish a comprehensive and definitive legal framework to preparer a national assets register.
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