By Morkporkpor Anku
Accra, Oct. 6, GNA – The State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA) has urged state-owned enterprises and other specified entities to collaborate and leverage their respective strengths to create greater value for Ghana.
Professor Michael Kpessa-Whyte, the Director-General of the SIGA, said stronger collaboration among state institutions could improve efficiency, expand services, create jobs and strengthen the financial performance of the entities.
He said the Authority’s position was demonstrated by the Bank Assurance partnership between SIC Life Insurance and the National Investment Bank (NIB).
He said the partnership provided an example of how public enterprises could leverage their products, services, expertise and customer networks to create value within the state-owned enterprise ecosystem.
The Director-General said SIGA had about 175 state entities under its oversight, many of which provided services that could also be utilised by other state institutions.
He said SIGA therefore encouraged commercially viable inter-trading among its specified entities, provided such arrangements were based on sound corporate governance and proper commercial assessment.
He explained that the objective was not to give preference to one entity for its own sake, but to retain value within the public sector while ensuring that collaborations benefited the institutions and the country.
He said many state institutions had complementary capabilities that could be combined to improve customer service, expand market reach and strengthen financial performance.
The Director-General said SIC Life brought expertise in insurance and a range of products and services, while NIB provided a banking platform and an extensive customer base.
He said the partnership would enable NIB customers to access insurance solutions through familiar channels while providing SIC Life with an opportunity to expand its reach.
He urged leaders of State Institutions to identify areas of mutual need and capability and explore partnerships that were commercially viable and capable of delivering measurable value.
The Director-General said SIGA would continue to facilitate dialogue among its specified entities and encourage them to make greater use of products and services available within the state-owned enterprise ecosystem.
He said SIGA was also considering including partnerships among the indicators used in assessing the performance of its entities.
He said the Authority’s SIGA Connect initiative was also helping specified entities to showcase their products and services, identify areas of mutual need and explore opportunities for collaboration and business.
The Director-General said the success of the SIC Life-NIB partnership would ultimately be measured by increased customer reach, improved services, operational efficiency, revenue growth and stronger financial sustainability.
He said the partnership should serve as a catalyst for more purposeful collaboration among specified entities in sectors including banking, insurance, transport, energy, technology, accommodation and training.
GNA
Edited by Benjamin Mensah
Reporter: Morkporkpor Anku
Email: [email protected]