DISMAYED by the very low return from Government investment in Public Enterprises, the Minister for Public Enterprises, this week reminded directors of their responsibilities.

He revealed that returns from government's multi-million investments in these 13 public enterprises amounted to a mere fraction of a per cent, and that eight of the enterprises were operating at a loss.

Directors attending the opening of a workshop on Tuesday March 8, were told by Hon. Clive Edwards that it was their responsibility to manage government enterprises according to the Public Enterprise Act and the Company Act.

He stressed the importance of directors understanding the Public Enterprise Act and the Company Act because both of these Acts outlined their roles as company directors.

"Failure to understand these basic requirements will cause problems in the governance of our Public Enterprises and may render you liable for negligence," said the Minister.

He reminded them of their obligation as directors of Public Enterprises, taking into consideration that their salaries and that of their staff amounted to $753,000 annually, and the total investment by government in these enterprises amounted to over $272.19 million in 2010.

The minister expressed his dismay over the very low return from the government's investment, which was only 0.3%. He said that his ministry is determined to improve the performance of public enterprises and to ensure a minimum return on its investment of not less than 10%.

High losses

But after setting the objective, the minister told the directors of the very poor performance of some of these Public Enterprises.

He identified the Waste Authority Ltd. as the public enterprises with highest loss of $646,000, followed by the Tonga Timber Ltd. with $355,382. The full extent of the loss of Tonga Timber Ltd. cannot be determined because of a lack of proper record keeping.

He said that eight out off the 13 Public Enterprises were operating at a loss.

The Tonga government's 13 Public Enterprises are:

the Tonga Development Bank,
Tonga Communications Corporation,
Tonga Airports Ltd,
Tonga Water Board,
Ports Authority Tonga,
Tonga Investment Ltd,
Waste Authority,
Tonga Timber Ltd,
Tongatapu Market Ltd,
Tonga Broadcasting Commission,
Tonga Print Ltd,
Tonga Post Ltd., and
Tonga Power Ltd.