The state-owned enterprises (SOE) committee of parliament has decided to summon senior officials of the State Trading Organization (STO) after the company failed to comply with a request to provide information in writing.
The issue of STO's failure to reply to four letters sent to seek information was tabled in the agenda for Wednesday's meeting of the SOE committee. STO did not reply despite repeated reminders to respond to the letters, the committee noted.
MPs on the committee voted in favor of summoning STO's managing director, procurement head and senior officials of the medical department. The nature of the information sought by the committee is unclear.
The SOE oversight committee's mandate includes ensuring that state-owned companies or companies with a stake owned by the state are conducting business activities in line with sound commercial principles, and assessing whether the companies are paying out dividends annually, working towards strengthening management and improving finances year-on-year.
Determining whether reforms are implemented at unprofitable companies and assessing the results of such reforms are also part of the SOE committee's responsibilities.
