The system lacked the public technological institutes (except in the area of agriculture) which, as providers of public goods, can play a fundamental role in the dissemination of knowledge, provision of technical services, and technology transfer to enterprises, and more specifically to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Steering and co-ordination capacities of the centre of government or ministries in charge policy design and implementation involving autonomous agencies are limited. Autonomous agencies’ appropriations do not have to be approved by the Legislative Assembly but by the Comptroller General, and approval is from a legal rather than a policy standpoint. In addition, there is no effective mechanism to ensure that these agencies' objectives are aligned with those of the central government.