4.1. Trading fund
The Government has considered the establishment of a trading fund for WSD. The trading fund arrangement
is borrowed from public sector reforms in the UK. Under the 1973 Trading Fund Act, trading funds were set up
for a number of government departments in the UK for self-provision of finances. Examples include Royal Ordnance
Factories, the Royal Mint, and HMSO (the UK Government’s stationery office). These departments
were given trading fund status with the aim of making them more commercial in operation. Under the trading
fund arrangement, management is still accountable to the Minister and the employees remain civil servants. However,
they have their own accounts and the operations of the organizations are financed by trading receipts. It
is argued that this arrangement has provided a greater degree of financial autonomy and managerial independence
than when services are directly run by government departments and financed by tax revenues