ISLAMABAD : Taking serious note of the insufficient oversight by federal ministries over State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed all ministries and divisions to establish mechanisms for monitoring the performance of each subordinate organization and SOE under their jurisdiction, well-informed sources told Newzshewz.
According to Finance Ministry’s report, in fiscal year 2024 (FY24), Pakistani State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) incurred a total loss of Rs 851 billion. This represents a 14.03% decrease compared to the previous year, but the total accumulated losses since 2014 remain substantial at Rs 5.9 trillion. Several SOEs incurred significant losses during FY 2024. The largest loss was reported by the NHA at Rs 295.5 billion, followed by QESCO Rs. 120.4b, Rs. PESCO 88.7b, Rs. PIA 73.5b, Pakistan Railways Rs. 51.3b, SEPCO Rs. 37b, LESCO Rs. 34.5b, Pakistan Steel Millions Corp. Rs. 31.1b, HESCO Rs. 22.1b, GENCO-II Rs 17.6b, IESCO Rs. 15.8b, Pak Post Office Rs. 13.4b, TESCO Rs. 9.5b, GEPCO Rs. 8.5b, GENCO-III Rs. 7.8b and all others cumulatively Rs. 23.7 billion. Accumulated losses to date stand at a colossal RS 5,748 Billion with the majority in the past 10 years alone.
In a letter to all the Secretaries of Ministries / Divisions, Prime Minister’s Advisor and confidant, Dr.Tauqeer Shah has stated that Prime Minister has noted with concern the insufficient oversight by Federal Ministries over SOEs and statutory organizations under their jurisdiction which has resulted in serious governance failures, including violations of procurement rules and incidents of corruption, inaction against malpractice, operational inefficiencies, failure to manage prolonged litigation , and declining service delivery,.
In view of the above, the Prime Minister has directed that ;(i) . Ministers-in- Charge and Secretaries of the concerned Divisions shall exercise robust and continuous oversight over all organizations under their administrative control, including SOEs, autonomous bodies, and attached departments. Nominated representatives on Boards shall actively exercise their rights to support this oversight. Immediate and proactive measures shall be taken to address existing governance issues and prevent their recurrence ; and (ii) a system of pre- and post-briefings for Board meetings shall be instituted. Government representatives shall seek proper instructions prior to attending Board meetings and provide timely reporting thereafter .
The Prime Minister has also directed that all Ministers-in-Charge shall also ensure the formulation of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and monitoring frameworks for each subordinate organization and SOE under their jurisdiction to enable structured evaluation of performance and accountability. Ends
