‘SoEs Need Critical Empowerment’

Patrick A. K. Akorli, Managing Director of Ghana Oil Company Limited (GOIL), says state enterprises deserve critical empowerment to enable them contribute effectively to national development.

“Ghana achieved massive socio-economic development under governments that focused and injected human and financial capital into state enterprises whilst development slowed down tremendously under regimes that failed to acknowledge the power of state enterprises.

“It is therefore imperative for stakeholders in development to create enabling environment for the empowerment of state enterprises to fuel the private sector, which has been touted as engine of growth,”

Mr Akorli said this in an interview with Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Accra Saturday.

He explained that without strong state enterprises, the private sector could not operate at optimal level “as the state enterprises, apart from their core functions have over the years provided a platform for industrial development of human resources to feed the private sector.”

He appealed to media practitioners to support and project the achievements of state enterprises, adding, “Our modest achievements in spite of the challenging environment, which we operate from, needs to be acknowledged.

“The positive stories of state enterprises and Ghanaian industries need to be projected. We must move away from the concentration of the negatives and weaknesses of these entities and also focus of their gains. We must tell our positive stories,” Mr Akorli said.

He revealed that GOIL would continue to market quality petroleum and other energy products and services in an ethical, healthy, safe and environmentally friendly and socially responsible manner.

“We have professionally trained, high quality, motivated workforce, working as a team in an environment, which recognizes and rewards performance, innovation and creativity and provides for personal growth and development,” he said.

Mr Akorli said in spite of operational bottlenecks, GOIL was heading towards a world-class provider of goods and services in the petroleum and energy industries in the country.

“GOIL remains one of the forerunners in the state-owned enterprises sector and the petroleum industry in general. Since the Ghana Club 100 was introduced, GOIL has always been in the top 15.

“The High Street Journal has also recognized GOIL as one of the outstanding companies in Ghana. The US Peace Corps also recognized the Bolgatanga GOIL service station for its immense contribution to their work,” he added.

Mr Akorli noted that GOIL has maintained its market leadership in gasoline, premix, LPG, bunkering and lubricants since 2002 and has respectable positions in all other products marketed by it.