President John Dramani Mahama has warned that government will no longer absorb persistent financial losses incurred by State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), urging their boards and management teams to improve efficiency, accountability and profitability.
Speaking at a conference organised by the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA) at La Palm Royal Beach Hotel yesterday, President Mahama said government had reset its relationship with SOEs and would demand greater value from institutions entrusted with managing public assets.
He said leadership positions in SOEs must be tied to measurable performance, value creation and profitability, stressing that continued dependence on government support placed an unnecessary burden on the national budget.
The President reminded boards, chief executives and management teams that the assets under their control belong to the people and are held in trust on their behalf. He, therefore, challenged every institution represented at the conference to demonstrate, with credible evidence, the value it had created for the public.
President Mahama’s warning that persistent losses by State-Owned Enterprises will no longer be quietly absorbed into the national budget is timely. But the real test is not whether government can issue a stern warning. It is whether the warning will translate into a culture in which public ownership consistently produces public value.
The latest figures make the case compelling. SIGA’s 2025 State Ownership Report shows that SOEs dramatically improved their financial performance, recording GH¢19.8 billion in net profit after tax, compared with a GH¢2.25 billion loss in 2024. Revenue also rose by 28.12 per cent to GH¢176.43 billion.
The Chronicle welcomes the turnaround. But it also raises a difficult question: if the enterprises can generate such significant profits, why did only two SOEs return dividends to their shareholder?
Dividend payments fell to just GH¢16 million in 2025, with Ghana Reinsurance Company and Tema Development Company being the only SOEs that paid. The amount represented a tiny fraction of the dividends government received from its wider portfolio.
Meanwhile, five SOEs recorded losses in every year from 2021 to 2025, while several others continued to carry negative equity. This is where accountability must go beyond the language of profitability.
An SOE should not be judged solely by whether its accounts show a profit. Where an enterprise exists to provide an essential public service, government must clearly define the public obligation and transparently fund it. What cannot be accepted is a situation in which commercial losses are allowed to accumulate without consequence while taxpayers ultimately shoulder the burden.
Boards must, therefore, become genuine instruments of corporate governance, not ceremonial bodies. Chief executives should have clearly defined performance targets and persistent underperformance should carry consequences.
Procurement, debt accumulation, capital expenditure and related-party transactions must receive rigorous scrutiny.
The timing is particularly important. The country is undertaking fiscal consolidation, while the IMF continues to identify SOEs as a significant source of fiscal risk. (IMF) very cedi lost through inefficiency is a cedi that cannot support health, education, infrastructure or other public priorities.
The 2025 figures prove that improvement is possible. Now comes the harder task: making good performance durable.
Public enterprises do not belong to presidents, ministers, boards or chief executives. They belong to the people of Ghana and those entrusted with them must be made to account for every asset, every decision and every cedi.
