GOVERNMENT ATTITUDE TOWARDS STATE OWNED ENTERPRISE: A CASE STUDY OF WATER BOARD IN BENIN.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND OF STUDY

Iyoha M.A (2004) says “state owned enterprise is a designed instrument of economic development” in fact it is government machinery that is used to reshape, reform and structurally re-adjust battered economy. It is also a fact clearly written on wall of concept times that there is the need to revamp the already crumbled economic. Isaac, G classified various types of economic system in deferent countries, the market oriented, centrally planned and mixed economic. The market oriented economic place their factor of production which include land, labour and capital in the hands of private ownership with the government taking over any part of the economy. The early classical economist believed in this system for eicient result. Though one cannot say if it really ever existed. The centrally planned economy is where the government owns all the factors of production and does not recognize private ownership. The government owns all the assets; determine what kind of goods to be produced and in what quantity it should be produced and also fixed the price. This was commonly practiced by the former USSR. The mixed economic is standing between the centrally planned economic and the market oriented. Recognizes the public and the private ownership of resources, the government provides essential services fore her people through the establishment of other public cooperation and parastatals such as electricity, transportation and health services.

The question about the fact of state owned enterprise whether the government is the proper machinery for mining their commercial profit so as to completely remove them from pure political association. This interest arises because, though every industry is likely to have some managerial problem, it is a common knowledge that the performance of state-owned companies is poor compared to that of the private sector counterpart. There are cases where companies which have been reasonably profitable and efficient have collapsed almost totally within a matter of months after the government has assumed management. The poor performance has been so had and it has forced some of those companies tom pack for being unable to support themselves, some of these companies are intra-city bus services, Asaba textile mile.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The research is meant to look into government attitude towards state owned enterprise with particular references to water board. The major problem militating against water-board is the enablement to render services (production of water) efficiently for her people due to lack of inadequate facilities. It is the view of the researcher to fish out the things which can be done in state owned enterprise to make its real ability better improved so that the essential mode of the society can be achieved. It is also intended to bring out the factors militating against the reliability of the water-board.