Embrace principles of accountability, transparency and ethical behaviour – A-G charges SOEs, OSEs

Godfred Yeboah Dame, the Attorney-General, has charged State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) and Other Specified Entities (OSEs) to adhere to the highest standards of good corporate governance to be more efficient and effective.

He said efficient and effective State enterprises were necessary for a country’s development, stressing that they played a pivotal role in providing essential services, driving economic growth, and generating revenue for the State.

Speaking at the 2nd Public Enterprises League Table (PELT) Awards to honour performing SOEs and OSEs, in Accra, on Wednesday, Mr Dame explained that, by promoting sound governance practices, SOEs and OSEs would create an environment that enabled them to operate efficiently, reduce wastage, and continually strive for improvement.

“Good corporate governance ensures transparency, accountability, and fairness in the management and decision-making processes of these entities. It instills investor and public confidence, attracts investment, and safeguards the interests of stakeholders, including the citizens of Ghana,” he indicated.

PELT was launched in April 2022 to engender competition among SOEs by enhancing efficiency, productivity and the profitability of public entities.

It is a collaboration among the Ministries of Public Enterprises, Finance and the State Interest and Governance Authority (SIGA).

The second edition was held on the theme: “Developing the Economic Superhighway Through Enhanced Corporate Governance of Specified Entities”.

Mr Dame, who is also the Minister of Justice, stressed the need for SOEs and OSEs to operate within the confines of the Public Financial Management Regulation 2019 (L.I. 2378) to bring clarity to processes and functions outlined in the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921).

Those laws, he explained, set a high standard for accountability and performance measurement in the public sector and provided a framework that ensured prudent financial management, transparency, and the efficient use of public resources.

“Therefore, it is imperative for Specified Entities to operate within the confines of the laws to be able to demonstrate good corporate governance culture,” he stressed.

He urged boards of specified entities to take the responsibility of ensuring that the mandates of their entities were fulfilled, saying “by so doing, there is assurance that as fiduciaries, the interest of their principals, which are the people of Ghana, are held and promoted.”

Mr Joseph Cudjoe, Minister of Public Enterprises, said SOEs and OSEs had made significant progress since the current government assumed office some seven years ago.

He said, since 2017, there had been improved compliance by SOEs to the regulatory frameworks such as adherence to the Public Financial Management Act.

He noted that, for instance there had been compliance to the signing of performance contracts, with about 73 performance contracts signed as compared to the 16 which were signed in 2016.

“We have been able to move audited account preparation, which only was six, six out of the numerous enterprises in 2016 to today, more than a 100, and not only the number but you know complying with the financial management act itself requires that end of February, that is second month of the succeeding year, you do prepare the account and give it the Auditor-General to report it.

“By end of April, you have prepared the audited account. You will be surprised to learn that a lot of the enterprises met that deadline, others haven’t, but in requirement of the Financial Management Act, which put it at almost six months, you have seen a lot of companies still complying,” he indicated.

On profitability, Mr Cudjoe said the SOEs had been able to reduce losses from some GH¢5.16 billion in 2019 to ¢1.7 billion in 2021.

“So, it means that, if we are measuring performance on the scale of good, better, best we may not be there for us to have said we have attained the best position we desire, but measuring our performance on a scale of bad, worse, worst, in which case the bad is the best, we have done well because we have moved a situation from a worst position through a worse to bad which is not what we desire, but we are moving to get the best results, which is the outcome the President expects of us,” he said.

Mr Edward Boateng, Director-General of State Interest and Governance Authority (SIGA), encouraged SOEs to expand their operations beyond the shores of the country to enhance their profitability.

He also emphasised timely delivery of reports by the SOEs to the Authority to enable it to effectively deliver on its mandate.

SOEs and OSEs awarded included; Most Compliant SOE– Ghana National Petroleum Commission; Most Compliant OSE – Ghana Irrigation Development Authority; Most Profitable SOE – Ghana Airport Company Limited; Most Efficient OSE – Ghana Meteorological Agency and Most Financially Sustainable OSE – Gaming Commission of Ghana.

The rest are; Best SOE (Dynamic Effect) – Northern Electricity Development Company; Best OSE (Dynamic Effect) – Food and Drugs Authority (FDA); SOE of the Year – Ghana Civil Aviation Authority; OSE of the Year – FDA and the Entity of the Year Award – FDA.