An advocacy group, United Voices for Change, has demanded the removal of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) from major state-owned enterprises (SOEs) such as the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Ghana Water Company Limited, and Ghana Airport Company.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, 23 April 2024, the Convener of UVC, Sylvestin Ronald Antwi, highlighted concerns regarding the financial performance of several state-owned entities.
According to Mr. Antwi, the Ghana Cocoa Board reported losses amounting to GHS161.3 million, GHS78.22 million, GHS320.57 million, GHS426.32 million, and GHS2.44 billion in the years 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021, respectively. This occurred despite the board recording profits of GHS329.3 million in 2014 and GHS152.15 million in 2015.
Mr. Antwi further highlighted the losses incurred by the Ghana Water Company, which amounted to GHS692.2 million in 2017, GHS667.9 million in 2018, GHS2.6 billion in 2019, and GHS939 million in 2020, despite reporting a profit of GHS101.14 million in 2016.
The ECG also faced scrutiny, with Mr. Antwi revealing a loss of GHS1.914 billion in 2021, following profits of GHS181 million in previous years. In 2018 and 2019, the ECG reported losses of GHS1.47 billion and GHS2.27 billion, respectively.
Similarly, the Ghana Airport Company was accused of consistently reporting losses since 2019, with figures reaching GHS231.34 million in 2019, GHS434.77 million in 2020, and GHS252 million in 2021.
He emphasised that these losses indicate a failure on the part of the CEOs to fulfill their mandate of ensuring profitability and revenue generation for the state.
Speaking to Citi News, Professor Abdul Aziz Iddrisu, the convener and Head of the Department for Banking and Finance at Kumasi Technical University, expressed concern over the declining financial status of SOEs, stressing its adverse effects on national development and economic stability.
The convener stated that “our state-owned enterprises are underperforming; this has drained the country’s resources and plunged the country into underdevelopment and indebtedness. Undisputedly, SOEs are profit-oriented entities and should be making profits.
“Sadly enough, it appears the managers of these enterprises, in key positions, are more loyal to their appointing authorities than to the development of the companies, leading them to deliberately run SOEs at a loss.”
“It is with great urgency backed by verifiable data, facts and figures that we call for the dismissal of the CEOs of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), and Ghana Water Company Limited, and Ghana Airport Company.
“These individuals have presided over a period of financial decline and recklessness and have failed to fulfil their mandates of ensuring profitability and revenue generation for the state.
“We also want the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo, and the Attorney General to ensure that the CEOs of these entities, after being dismissed, face the law.”
