Accra, Feb. 1, GNA – The State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA) requires adequate resources to effectively discharge its mandate.
Although State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) are mandated by law to pay a percentage of their annual dividends to the government, few of them have done so since the establishment of SIGA three years ago.
In an interview in Accra on Tuesday, Ambassador Edward Boateng, Director-General of SIGA, stated the Authority would be better placed to attract young talented staff to the Authority should SIGA be better resourced. He added: “SIGA should be financially empowered so we can attract the best of talents…This year we are projecting dividends of about GHS80 million,” he said.
SIGA was established under the SIGA Act, 2019 (Act 990) to oversee and administer the state’s interests in State-Owned Enterprises, Joint Venture Companies (JVCs) and other State Entities.
The Authority is mandated under the Act to among others promote the efficient and where applicable the profitable operations of Specified Entities and to ensure that those Entities adhere to good corporate governance practices.
Section 24 of the Act mandates SOEs and JVCs to pay “not more than five per cent of dividends” to SIGA on an annual basis.
“Each Specified Entity shall not later than 31st March of each year pay to the Authority a monitoring fee in accordance with the Fees and Charges,” the Act further directs.
Ambassador Boateng stated one of the challenges facing the Authority was “an overlap of roles” as some entities still took instructions from their Ministries against the legal mandates of SIGA.
He stressed that the Authority would continuously engage the Ministries to understand the limit of the functions and avoid conflict of roles.
“Traditionally, policy formulation had rested with the Ministries. With the SIGA Act, the Ministry should be focusing on policy formulation and SIGA should be focusing on the execution of those policies within the SOEs,” he said.
One of the challenges that had plagued SOEs over the years had been their inability to make profit (where necessary), reduce losses, and contribute significantly to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Prior to the establishment of SIGA, a total of 47 SOEs in 2019 recorded an aggregate net loss of GHS5.16 billion.
In 2020, the loss reduced to GHS2.61 billion, the 2020 State Ownership Report found.
Ambassador Edward Boateng disclosed one of the key agenda of the Authority was to turn around the operations of the SOEs to become economically viable and attractive.
He said the last audited accounts conducted in 2021 showed that SOE losses had reduced to GHS2.4 billion and expressed confidence that the Specified Entities would post profits as they complied with the Authority’s directives.
“The SOEs must ensure that their audited and management accounts are in shape which helps all of us. A lot of SOEs are now complying and it is going to improve,” Mr Boateng said.
Currently, SIGA has 175 Specified Entities under its supervision.
The 2020 State Ownership Report shows that SOEs paid a total of GHS275.48m as dividend to the Government out of a projected amount of GHS290.4m.
GNA