Zimbabwe has 107 state-owned enterprises (SOEs), defined as companies wholly owned by the state.  A list of the SOEs appears here .  Many SOEs support vital infrastructure including energy, mining, and agribusiness.  Competition within the sectors where SOEs operate tends to be limited.  However, the government of Zimbabwe (GOZ) invites private investors to participate in infrastructure projects through public-private partnerships (PPPs).  Most SOEs have public function mandates, although in more recent years, they perform hybrid activities of satisfying their public functions while seeking profits.  SOEs should have independent boards, but in some instances such as the recent case of the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC), the government allows the entities to function without boards.

Zimbabwe does not appear to subscribe to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) guidelines on corporate governance of SOEs.  SOEs are subject to the same taxes and same value added tax rebate policies as private sector companies.  SOEs face several challenges that include persistent power outages, mismanagement, lack of maintenance, inadequate investment, a lack of liquidity and access to credit, and debt overhangs.  As a result, SOEs have performed poorly.  Few SOEs produce publicly available financial data and even fewer provide audited financial data.  This has imposed significant costs on the rest of the economy.

Privatization Program

Although the government committed itself to privatize most SOEs in the 1990s, it only successfully privatized two parastatals.  In 2018, the government announced it would privatize 48 SOEs.  So far, it has only targeted five in the telecommunications sector, postal services, and financial sector for immediate reform.  The government encourages foreign investors to take advantage of the privatization program to invest in the country, but inter-SOE debts of nearly     USD 1 billion pose challenges for privatization plans.  According to the government’s investment guidelines, it is still working out the process under which it will dispose its shareholding to the private sector.