It is with pleasure that we present the third State Ownership Report. The publication of this Report forms part of efforts by my Ministry to fulfil its obligations and mandate for overseeing the financial operations of entities in which the State maintains interests. It also demonstrates our enduring commitment to protecting the public purse.
This Report helps to shed light on and deepen our understanding of the factors behind the performance of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), other state entities (OSEs), and joint venture companies (JVCs). Not only would the insights gained strengthen partnerships between the state and the private sector, but it will also inform on-going interventions and shape key sector decisions relating to the management of the State’s interests in SOEs, OSEs and JVCs.
Elsewhere, this Government, led by President Akufo-Addo, has articulated the vision of Ghana Beyond Aid. A central cog of this vision is the deliberate liberation of the energies of the private sector to serve as the engine of transformation. The pursuit of this Vision requires a dedication to optimizing Government’s interest and investments in all entities in a manner that ensures the best returns in terms of dividends/ surplus receipts and /or efficient and effective provision of critical public services. To achieve this, we have revamped the regulatory and legislative environment with a raft of reforms as typified by the recent institutionalization of SIGA. These reforms have been undertaken in the anticipation that existing and future investments of the State in the above-mentioned entities would flourish in a congenial eco-system.
However, as this report illustrates, financial and operational performance of the entities covered, particularly SOEs remain mixed and far from desirable. It is important to highlight the fact that these results, though somewhat disheartening, are not entirely unexpected. Indeed, the sheer scope and scale of the reforms being undertaken suggest that the pace of progress would be slow. But, we will succeed, if only we have the courage to persist.
We must not be daunted. These unexciting results must serve as the board from which our eternal resolve for improving public investments and asset management would spring. The recent tremendous policy and regulatory advances in the Public Financial Management System in Ghana should remain our chief companion and complementing framework. We must be energized to aggressively pursue the agreed reforms that would enhance the processes, systems, practices and procedures by which entities are governed and managed. We must harness digital technology to augment human capacity. Together, these would naturally lead to improved performance of SOEs, OSEs, and JVCs as well as enhance their contribution to our national development process.
Ultimately, Government recognizes that it must confront the challenge of mobilizing more resources for socio-economic transformation. We are cognizant that doing this draws us closer to accomplishing the economic, cultural and social rights enshrined as fundamental rights in the 1992 Constitution. We are determined to take these rights away from the notional and abstract realm and make them real. I am clear in my mind that these aspirations are in line to profit from the lessons we have learnt from the findings of this Report. May God grant us the courage of our conviction in this pursuit of reforming SOEs.