Privatisation of services
Putting the cart before the horse?: privatisation and economic reform in Afghanistan
Is the time right to privatise Afghanistan’s state owned enterprises?
Authors:
A. Paterson; J. Blewett
Publisher:
Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit , 2006
This report discusses the privatisation of Afghanistan’s state owned enterprises (SOEs). The report argues that the privatisation of SOEs may be premature as other economic reforms need to be implemented prior the selling of state assets.
The report argues that the government should address other structural reforms including:
- adequate investment legislation
- improved security and infrastructure
- streamlined and strengthened regulation.
The report argues that improvements in key public goods would add value to SOEs over time and therefore the government should prioritise these reforms before rushing into a privatisation agenda. Other components necessary to implement such an agenda include:
- clarification of ownership of SOEs
- transparency
- public information on Afghanistan’s privatisation agenda
- more strategic though on the sequencing of economic reforms.
