State ownership report delays must cease – President Akufo-Addo cautions SOEs

The heads of state-owned firms and their representatives have been charged by the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to carefully follow the deadlines set by the State Interests and Governance Authority for preparing and publishing State Ownership Reports.

“As a follow-up to this directive, I expect the Director General of SIGA to furnish me with the list of all specified entities who have not complied with this directive by 31st May 2024,” President Akufo-Addo has directed.

Speaking at the 2024 Annual Policy and Governance Forum on April 23, 2024, the President discussed the value of this important duty as a crucial component of government efforts to improve accountability and transparency in the management and governance of our public enterprises, ensuring that they fulfill their mandates and support the national economy. The policy documents being launched are the State Ownership Policy for Specified Entities and the Code of Corporate Governance for Specified Entities and Public Service Organizations in Ghana.

President Akufo-Addo stated that the State Ownership Report, which is among other things a record of accountability and transparency, is required to be prepared by SIGA and provides information to the public and government on the financial and non-financial performance of public firms.

Board chairs of all specified entities in the Cabinet-approved list of entities are expected to submit their audited accounts and statements to SIGA by May 15, 2024. The President cited non-compliance with the submission of financial statements by public entities as a major obstacle to the preparation and publication of SORs. These financial statements are crucial to the preparation of the SOR.

In addition, he called on specific businesses that have not yet complied with SIGA’s supervision measures to do so immediately, stressing that their “reluctance to comply, not only erodes the fabric of transparency and accountability, but also undermines the integrity of our nation’s financial framework.”

“It is imperative that we uphold collectively the principles of good cooperate governance, which leads to accountability and transparency, to safeguard the interest of the State, in the running of public enterprises,” he said.

Reminding participants of government’s resolve to ensure that the public enterprises sector, contribute about 30 percent of the country’s GDP, he said considerable strides towards this target has been made as latest reports from the Controller and Accountant General’s Department indicates that the number of specified entities, included in the national accounts, has increased from 19 in 2020 to 62 in 2022.

Additionally, “entities signing performance contracts with SIGA rose from 6 in 2016, to 73 in 2023, thus underscoring how transparent and accountable government has been so far as governance and management of our public enterprises are concerned.”

He singled out for special recognition and praise, the management of entities like, BOST, VRA, TDC Development Company Limited, and Ghana Re-insurance amongst others, for transforming successfully the entities from debt-ridden to profitable public enterprises.

“TDC Development Company Limited and Ghana Re-insurance holds special significance for me, due to the steadfast commitment, to paying dividends consistently to the government and I take this opportunity to encourage the other SOEs to emulate their laudable feat,” President Akufo-Addo indicated.

He said the policy document as launched provides clearly defined objectives for ownership and articulates the establishment of proper systems for managing and accessing the performance of the state ownership interests in our public enterprises.

In the light of these, “my government has implemented reforms, aimed at enhancing transparency, streamlining operations, and mitigating risks within state-owned enterprises, however, we recognize that there is still more work to be done, hence the need to launch the two new policy documents on, The Code of Corporate Governance for Specified Entities and Public Service Organisations in Ghana, and secondly, The State Ownership Policy for Specified Entities, to enhance even further, transparency, accountability and good governance within our specified entities,” he pointed out.

Source: Ghanatodayonline.com