By Edward Acquah
Accra, Jan. 31, GNA – State-Owned Enterprises will contribute 25 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2023, the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA) has projected.
The Ministry of Finance had charged the Authority to ensure that SOEs become economically viable and contribute at least 30 per cent to the GDP.
Mr Edward Boateng, Director-General of SIGA, told the Ghana News Agency on Tuesday that the SOEs, last year, contributed 21 per cent of the country’s GDP.
“We are very low on the curve and we are working to ensure that it goes a bit higher. Last year, we moved from 5 per cent to 21 per cent. This year, hopefully we will move up to about 25 per cent,“ he said.
The SIGA was established under the SIGA Act, 2019 (Act 990) to oversee and administer the state-interests in state-owned enterprises (SOEs), Joint Venture Companies (JVCs) and other state entities.
The Authority is mandated under the Act to among others promote the efficient or profitable operations of Specified Entities and to ensure that those entities adhered to good corporate governance practices.
Currently, SIGA has 175 state enterprises under its supervision.
The 2020 State Ownership Report showed that SOEs paid a total of GHS275.48m as dividend to the Government out of a projected amount of GHS290.4.
Mr Boateng said one of the key agenda of the Authority was to turn around the fortunes of the SOEs into economically viable and attractive entities.
He said the last audited accounts conducted in 2021 showed that SOE losses had reduced from GHS5.16 to GHS2.4 billion and expressed confidence that the Specified Entities would post profits as they complied with the Authority’s directives.
Touching on the proposed listing of SOEs on the stock exchange, Mr Boateng said the Authority was working closely with the Ghana Stock Exchange to identify capable state enterprises.
He said a Committee made up of various stakeholders had been established to explore opportunities in the space and ensure that the move served the interest of the state.
“We are looking at recapitalising some of our industries to make them more functional and profitable.” Mr Boateng said.
He said the SIGA Act provided an opportunity for the country to revamp and transform the SOEs sector to boost the expansion of the private sector and create job opportunities for the youth.
“We need to enhance the capability of the public sector organisations so that the private sector can thrive and employ more people in the country,” he said.
He said the Authority would this year hold its Stakeholder Conference in Kwahu in the Eastern Region to deliberate on the challenges affecting the SOEs sector and discuss ways to ensure sustainable improvement in their performance.
GNA