WINDHOEK, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Namibia allocated more than 12 billion Namibian dollars (1 billion U.S. dollars) to state-owned enterprises in guarantees and bailouts for the financial year 2017/18, public enterprises minister Leone Jooste said Monday.
Jooste, who addressed the annual stakeholders' meeting held in Windhoek that looked into what the government expected from public enterprises this year and beyond, said public enterprises were making losses that amounted to more than 150 million Namibian dollars per year.
According to Jooste, the government also paid more than 8 billion Namibian dollars (692 million U.S. dollars) in guarantees for the 2017/18 for its more than 300 enterprises that employ 17, 564 people.
Seventy-one out of the 300 state-owned enterprises are listed; 38 are non-commercial; 22 commercial; and 11 are financial institutions.
The total wage bill, which the minister said was not sustainable, was 6 billion Namibian dollars per year.
Jooste said in 2017/18 financial year the government paid out about 868 million Namibian dollars to commercial public enterprises while 60 million Namibian dollars went to financial enterprises, with 2.5 billion Namibian dollars given to non-commercial entities.
Jooste said although public enterprises were created to provide public goods, generate funds and increase access to public services, most of them had failed.
"Instead of supporting the generation of revenue for the state, public enterprises have become a burden to the state by depending on annual subsidies and guarantees to sustain operations," Jooste said.
