What are Public Enterprises?
State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), Public Enterprises (PEs), government business enterprise and publicly owned corporations are some of the terms used to define government owned or government-controlled entities across the world.
Per OECD, a Public Enterprise can be described as “any undertaking recognised by national law as an enterprise, and in which the state exercises ownership or control, should be considered as an SOE. This includes joint stock companies, limited liability companies and partnerships limited by shares. Moreover, statutory corporations, or other legal personalities established through specific legislation, should be considered as SOEs if their purpose and activities, or large parts of their activities, are of an economic nature.”
(OECD, 2024)
Understanding the role and purpose of Public Enterprises
As the sectors where Public Enterprises (PEs) operate in are crucial contributors to the economic growth and development of Seychelles, the main objectives of PEs are to:
- Provide essential public goods and services to consumers
- Act as drivers of competitions in the local and international markets
- Assist the government in maintaining a fairly steady flow of income through investments and returns, through the payments of dividends and taxes
- Furnish employment opportunities
- Essentially contribute towards the social goals of the government for the country
Public Enterprises in Seychelles
Schedule One of the Public Enterprises Act 2023 outlines the relevant enterprises who must abide to the aforementioned Act.
The Public Enterprise (PE) sector in Seychelles currently composes of 27 entities, all under government ownership and most having been established using public financial resources. These government owned organisations are responsible for the delivery of both commercial and social objectives. This includes the provision of essential services such as electricity, water, port services, fuel supply, transport and aviation.
Of these 27 PEs, seven are subsidiaries for certain parent entities. These PEs are classified under four different sectors of the economy and each distinctively varies in size, in terms of assets, returns, liabilities, types of public services offered and number of personnel employed.
Amongst the 27 PEs,14 are incorporated under the Companies Ordinance 1972 (the Ordinance) as commercially-oriented limited liability companies, while the other entities have been incorporated overseas or have been established under their respective legislation and act as corporations, authorities or other entities.