Minister of Public Enterprises, Joseph Cudjoe
At least 95 out of 128 public enterprises in the country have had their audited accounts adequately prepared for scrutiny by the central government and all relevant institutions assisting in the fight against corruption.
These audited accounts, have all been vetted and confirmed by the institutions involved and are ready for public scrutiny.
This new development could assist the government in providing solace in the fight against corruption in the country.
The Minister of Public Enterprises, Joseph Cudjoe, made these known when he engaged the media in Accra on Wednesday.
The anti-corruption Minister who is also a Member of Parliament (MP) for Effia Constituency in Western Region, emphasized that progress has since been made in getting all public enterprises to constantly prepare their audited accounts annually for central government as the war against corruption intensifies.
"I have personally visited 44 public enterprises and interacted with their MDs. We have collectively found solutions to their challenges which is often revenue generation", he said.
The Minister, who has set an eagle eye on all public enterprises, with the fist of his technical finance background, has issued unconditional directives to all these enterprises for them to comply or face the wrath of the government.
"It is the plan of government to get a whole of government consolidated account, where it will make it easier to check corruption by tracking revenue and expenditure"
The essence of all these moves being made, he underscored, is to clamp down on waste in the public sector, and deal decisively with corruption in the public space.
Unveiling the Anti-Corruption moves at his turn, during the usual Minister’s Press Briefing in Accra, Mr Joseph Cudjoe, said in 2016, only 2 companies (Public Enterprises) had their audited accounts submitted through the government’s effort to check corruption.
"The mindset of the Ghanaian is different when managing their own business compared to managing a state asset"
The reason, he said his outfit issued the directive to all public enterprises to prepare these audited accounts to aid in transparency and accountability.
Currently, the situation has improved dramatically following the directive issued and the improved compliance rate being recorded.
He says this is good news since the audited accounts of these enterprises would give the government unfettered access to these institutions to check the performance of public enterprises and as well as check corruption in the public space.
The firebrand, tipped to go unopposed in the NPP parliamentary primaries in Effia Constituency has gained currency in the administration of President Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo for making a significant contribution to the current government.
As the man in charge, he has vowed to make public enterprises profitable through active, proactive and productive policy initiatives.
Considered quick-witted, and alluring in offering immeasurable service to the nation, Joseph Cudjoe has played various roles in government both as a legislator and a Minister of State.
