A policy analysis of state-owned enterprises : the case study of South African national road agency limited (SANRAL).
Loading...
Date
2016
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) are regarded as essential lubricants for socio-economic
advancement not only in developing countries, but developed countries too. In developing
countries, their history dates back to the colonial period where the state was essentially perceived
to be the only entity with the necessary capacity to engineer development. Since their inception,
SOEs have undergone different forms of public sector reforms. The emergence of the New Public
Management in the 1980s, for example, saw the introduction of several forms of governance to
improve the effectiveness and efficiency in the public sector. The commercialization of SOEs is
often seen as a plausible technique to make SOEs more profitable. SOEs are government’s attempt
to create state ownership in the economy, mobilizing private sector capital, reducing state debts
and enhancing the capacity and competitiveness of the SOEs. On the other hand SOEs are
criticized for their lack of accountability, transparency, poor performance and patronage. Research
on SANRAL reveals that SOEs have the potential to bring about both positive and negative
outcomes. The research on SANRAL further demonstrates that if properly managed, extraneous
factors that limit positive outcomes of SOEs can be reduced.
Description
Master of Social Science in Policy and Development Studies). University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg 2016.