Dante’s Inferno holds that the inscription above the gates of hell reads: “Abandon hope all ye who enter here”. The department of public enterprises might consider reading Alighieri’s 14th-century masterpiece for inspiration in producing its next annual report.

Its leaders are surely connoisseurs of divine comedy. Its minister certainly fancies himself as something of a god. On the department’s landing page one is invited right in: “The Office of Public Enterprises (OPE) was established in 1994 to champion and direct the restructuring of State-Owned Companies and to ensure their optimal economic and developmental impact.”..

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