The new Serbian government has initiated the procedure of adopting the new Law on State-Owned Public Enterprises, which should finally regulate their operations and carry out the process of corporatization in these enterprises that were announced about 15 years ago.
The Serbian Ministry of Economy has announced on its website the launch of the Public Debate on the Draft Law on the Management of Companies Owned by the Republic of Serbia.
According to the law, a public debate in the National Parliament is mandatory when it comes to the preparation of a law that significantly changes the regulation of an issue that is of particular interest to the public.
Given that the national electricity provider Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS) has started the transformation of its ownership from a public company to a joint-stock company, it is possible that the new law will also deal with problems related to this company in some segments which were probably prompted by the collapse of the EPS System.
More than 70 percent of the state-owned companies to which the Law on Public Companies applies to have acting directors or directors whose term in the office is not in accordance with the law. Also, these companies have not been operating in a transparent way for years, especially when it comes to the execution of public tenders.
According to data from last year, there are currently around 250 state and public companies in Serbia, of which only 50 report directly to the Ministry of Economy as their activities are considered of public interest.
Source : Serbian Monitor
