Today, 11.09.2019, the Center for Civil Communications (CCC) published its research titled Law or Politics: Selection of Management and Supervisory Board Members at State-Owned Enterprises. This research is accompanied by an open database containing information about members of management and supervisory bodies at the 30 biggest state-owned enterprises in the country.
Key findings include the following:
- The government and the local self-government units do not have an official document that regulates the process for selection of members to governing bodies at public enterprises established by them. In the capacity of founding entities, they do not announce open calls for selection of members to governing bodies at state-owned enterprises, do not verify qualifications of potential candidates, and do not conduct interviews with potential members.
- The comprehensive research conducted at founding entities and enterprises established by them was unable to determine which criteria and what procedures are in place for the government and the municipal councils to appoint individuals as members of management and supervisory boards. Given the overall opaqueness of this process, justified concerns are raised that lists for appointment of management and supervisory board members at state-owned enterprises are compiled outside institutions, i.e. within political party camps.
- Persons appointed as management board members at the biggest state-owned enterprises include political party supporters, sector heads/directors at other state-owned enterprises, state administration employees, accountants from private companies, school secretaries, pedagogies, psychologists, and even petrol station manager, jewellery shop owner, etc.
- Only one third of supervisory board members hold degrees in economics and relevant knowledge and experience in the area of financial and accounting operations.
- In the case of some state-owned enterprises, neither the founding entities nor the enterprises themselves dispose with work biographies for members of their respective management and supervisory boards.
- The amount of remuneration awarded to board members ranges from 800 MKD per session held, as observed with PUE Komunalec Prilep, up to 27,000 MKD per month, as awarded to the supervisory board chair at PBE Macedonian Radio-Television. On annual level, the highest amount of total costs for board members is observed with PE Water Supply and Sewage – Skopje, in the amount of 2.2 million MKD, i.e. around 36,000 EUR.
For more information, please contact the Center for Civil Communications (e-mail: center@ccc.org.mk or tel: (02) 3213-513). This research was conducted as part of the project “Enhance Integrity and Reduce Corruption in State and Private Business Sector”, financed by the European Union.