Most SOEs now profit-making ventures : Dilip Barua
Sunday, 1 November 2009
CHITTAGONG, Oct 31 (BSS): Industries Minister Dilip Barua Saturday categorically rejected the notion that the state-owned enterprises (SOEs) meant mismanagement and losing concerns, saying most SOEs under the Ministry of Industries (MoI) had started making profits after the present government had assumed power as it had adopted a pragmatic policy in this regard.
He also announced that the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina would not privatise any of the running or profitable SOEs for the sake of balanced industrial growth in line with a healthy public- private competitiveness in the industrial sector.
He was speaking at a workers' rally of General Electric Manufacturing Company Ltd (GEMCO) held on its premises at Patenga Industrial belt in the port city Saturday.
With Managing Director of MEMCO Engineer Dilip Kumar Halder in the chair, the rally was addressed, among others, by MA Latif MP, President of GEMCO CBA Saiful Islam Khan and General Secretary Mohammad Shahjahan.
The industries minister said the SOEs often became sick due mainly to wrong government policy and mismanagement whereas workers were grossly blamed for the trend which was unjustified.
Referring to the example of GEMCO, he said the enterprise authorities had failed to pay even the salaries of its employees regularly a year ago but it made an operating profit of Tk 15 million (Tk 1.5 crore) until September of the current fiscal year and the amount would increase substantially in the coming years if such trend continued and some key problems of the plant were solved.
He said the government had adopted a policy to give priority to procuring quality products of SOEs for other public sector enterprises and establishments aiming at increasing economic viability of the SOEs.
Assuring of providing all sorts of cooperation and solving the outstanding problems of GEMCO, the minister said the proposal to handover some unutilised lands of GEMCO to the adjacent Eastern Refinery Ltd (ERL) for raising working capital of the company was under active consideration of the government.
He called upon the workers to maintain a production-conducive atmosphere in the country's industrial arena for ensuring optimum economic growth and also warned of dealing strictly with any sorts of unruly activities harmful for uninterrupted production in the sector.
He also announced that the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina would not privatise any of the running or profitable SOEs for the sake of balanced industrial growth in line with a healthy public- private competitiveness in the industrial sector.
He was speaking at a workers' rally of General Electric Manufacturing Company Ltd (GEMCO) held on its premises at Patenga Industrial belt in the port city Saturday.
With Managing Director of MEMCO Engineer Dilip Kumar Halder in the chair, the rally was addressed, among others, by MA Latif MP, President of GEMCO CBA Saiful Islam Khan and General Secretary Mohammad Shahjahan.
The industries minister said the SOEs often became sick due mainly to wrong government policy and mismanagement whereas workers were grossly blamed for the trend which was unjustified.
Referring to the example of GEMCO, he said the enterprise authorities had failed to pay even the salaries of its employees regularly a year ago but it made an operating profit of Tk 15 million (Tk 1.5 crore) until September of the current fiscal year and the amount would increase substantially in the coming years if such trend continued and some key problems of the plant were solved.
He said the government had adopted a policy to give priority to procuring quality products of SOEs for other public sector enterprises and establishments aiming at increasing economic viability of the SOEs.
Assuring of providing all sorts of cooperation and solving the outstanding problems of GEMCO, the minister said the proposal to handover some unutilised lands of GEMCO to the adjacent Eastern Refinery Ltd (ERL) for raising working capital of the company was under active consideration of the government.
He called upon the workers to maintain a production-conducive atmosphere in the country's industrial arena for ensuring optimum economic growth and also warned of dealing strictly with any sorts of unruly activities harmful for uninterrupted production in the sector.