THE third conference of chief executives of public enterprises is set to take place in Arusha towards the end of this month.

Lightness Mauki, a director with the Office of the Treasury Registrar which hosts the forum, told journalists yesterday that the forum will, along with state firms, also involve heads of privatized firms where the government holds minority shares.

CEOs from struggling entities need to borrow a leaf from successful CEOs via exchanges in the forum, as privatised firms offer substantial dividend payments to the Treasury.

Companies in which the government holds minority shares are largely owned by private investors, where the government through the forum seeks to push for efficiency, accountability and innovation across state commercial entities.

Dividends from minority state shares increased from 58bn/- five years ago to over 195bn/-in the last financial year, she said, pointing at this year’s theme as 'Sustainable business partnerships in a competitive global economic environment.'

The 2025 CEOs Forum is intended to develop strategies to increase non-tax revenues from state owned firms in particular, she said, highlighting that through the first and second phases of the forum various strategies were designed to increase non-tax income which by June 2025 this year had reached 1.03trn/- from 653bn/- in June 2020, a 49 percent increase.

Favourable business conditions, improved governance and strong collaboration with other shareholders enabled the increase, so to further enhance the contribution of companies in which the government holds minority shares, OTR has been reviewing outdated contracts to align them with current demands.

Maintaining positive relations with other shareholders has helped to improve productivity of the privatized firms where Treasury has minority shares, she asserted, affirming that various public firms have been able to operate independently without reliance on subsidies.

The government is working to enhance the operational performance of state owned firms, with the forum expected to set joint strategies to improve performance, accountability and enhance the contribution of state owned firms to the economy, she said.

The goal is to enhance cooperation between boards of directors and managements of public enterprises in the three days forum, designed as a special working session convening over 700 executives from state owned and privatized companies.

The 2025 forum will involve open dialogues between heads of institutions and participants, featuring experts in economic and development issues from abroad, she added.