I'm sure most, if not all, Semi-State employees were perfectly competent. However, as Semi-States their role in the economy wasn't restricted to merely providing a service, it included creating employment to create wealth through the circulation of money i.e. man gets wage, govt takes tax, man buys pint, govt takes tax, publican pays barman, govt takes tax, barman buys smokes, govt takes tax, etc, etc... Privatisation removed that tool from Govt so alternatives were required.