Government plans to sell 17 state-owned enterprises

The Minister for Public Enterprises, Joseph Cudjoe who disclosed this said that the purpose is to save the state from spending on the said companies when they’re not viable.

According to myjoyonline.com, the minister was speaking to the press at the Osu Castle after accounting for the stewardship of the Public Enterprises Secretariat since it was established.

“These are defunct assets that you would want to get rid of them so that you don’t continue to spend on them,” the news website quoted Cudjoe to have said.

He added that some of the affected enterprises are being considered by some ministries to be used for some government flagship programmes.

“I have seen, for example, the Trade Minister talk about interest in some of them for One District One Factory, which is very good because the aim is that they are defunct, assets are lying idle.”

The minister went on further to reveal that the Minister for Food and Agriculture has expressed interest in using some of the 17 affected enterprises for the government’s Planting for Food and Jobs programme.

Meanwhile, the government has exempted pension funds from its domestic debt exchange programme.

The exemption was to avert a nationwide indefinite industrial action by organised labour scheduled to start on Tuesday, December 27, 2022.

After a meeting held among Organised Labour, the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, the Finance Ministry, the National Security Ministry, and all other relevant parties on Thursday, December 22, 2022, a memorandum of understanding was signed.

Secretary General of the Ghana Trades Union Congress (TUC), Dr Anthony Yaw Baah called on all workers to remain at work, saying it is not necessary to go on strike because their demands have been met.

"We are pleased to inform you that this afternoon the government has agreed to exempt all pension funds from the domestic debt restructuring.

"Government has decided to grant exemption to all pension funds in the DDE programme," Baah said.

Pension funds constitute 6% of domestic public debt worth 181 billion cedis ($20.1 billion) at the end of September, according to data from the Central Securities Depository.

The government, in its quest to restructure its unsustainable debts to pave the way for an International Monetary Fund (IMF) three-billion-dollar bailout, has announced a debt exchange programme, which puts domestic investments, including pension funds at risk.