About 50% State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) reported ¢5.3bn losses in their operations in 2020 – Finance Ministry reveals

The Finance Ministry has revealed that State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) reported a ¢5.3 billion loss in their operations in the 2020 fiscal year.

It adds that some SOEs were reluctant to submit annual accounts since 2017.

To fix the poor state of some of the entities, the Finance Ministry is warning it will no longer support request for assistance by SOEs that fail to meet the reporting requirements specified in the Public Financial Act.

Deputy Finance Minister, Dr. John Kumah, announced this at a forum held by the State Interest and Governance Authority (SIGA) in Accra on Friday, January 28, 2022.

“SOEs consistently posted aggregate net losses from 2015; an amount of ¢2.1 billion to the latest figure of 2020 which is ¢5.3 billion losses in the Draft 2020 SOE Report. 50% of SOEs and 63% of JVCs reported losses.”

“The Finance Ministry will not consider any request for government support from any specified entities that fail to meet the reporting requirements specified in the PFM Act.

“The Minister of Finance has directed to the Director-General of SIGA to ensure that appropriate sanctions and penalties are applied for infractions of the PFM Act,” he stated.

On his part, President Akufo-Addo urged the state-owned enterprises to operate profitably and efficiently and create employment opportunities for young people.

“We must bring the phenomenon of posting losses to an end. Beginning this year, I urge every specified entity to direct their chain activities to involve Ghanaian entrepreneurs to spur the growth of the micro, small and medium scale enterprises sector in order for more young people to be employed.”

“If we can do this continuously for five years, imagine the number of lives we’d be impacting! When we gather again in the coming years, I will be eager to listen to success stories in this area,” he said.