SOEs record GH¢1.29bn net loss in 2017 - Report

Magdalene Teiko Larnyoh 09:40 - 28 September 2018

___8728974___2018___8___15___16___osafo-marfo_1

The report indicated that the losses were a reduction over similar losses recorded in 2016.

The State Ownership report has revealed that State-owned enterprises (SOEs) in the country recorded a net loss of GH¢1.29 billion in 2017.

According to the report which was launched in Accra on Tuesday (September 26, 2018) the bane of SOEs was their chronic inability to contain costs, as their aggregate operating cost increased by 56.5 per cent last year.

At the launch, the Senior Minister Yaw Oasafo-Maafo said this was a worrying trend which needed to be checked.

“This is of concern, given that inflation and interest rates have been on a downward trajectory.”

The annual SOE Policy and Governance Forum in Accra is being organised by the Ministry of Finance is on the theme: “Promoting good governance in the SOE sector through accountability, transparency, and integrity.”

The report also indicated that there was a highly unsatisfactory compliance by SOEs and Joint Venture Companies (JVCs) with reporting and disclosure provisions in legislative and regulatory requirements governing their operations.

It said only 48 out of the 86 entities repeatedly contacted by the Ministry of Finance submitted requested information, while no SOE, including the 33 covered in the report, had submitted their 2017 audited financial report as of the end of April this year.

READ ALSO: Menzgold sues BoG and SEC

This according to the report is against reporting requirements stipulated in the Public Financial Management Act (PFMA) 2016 (Act 921).

The PFMA, particularly sections 4, 5 and 6, confers defined powers on the Minister of Finance and the Chief Director of the ministry in their oversight of SOEs. These include the appropriate sanctions regime that the minister is empowered to exercise in respect of errant SOEs.

“I would like to make it absolutely and unequivocally clear that the minister has the full and unconditional support of the Cabinet should he choose to exercise his powers under the law in our quest to promote accountability,” Mr Osafo-Maafo reminded all.

In a related development, the Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta said the government had adopted an action plan to improve governance of the SOEs by enhancing good corporate governance practices in individual companies in the sector.

“The successful implementation of these action plans will not only make our SOE sector the leader in corporate governance reforms but, even more importantly, improve the decision-making process in the management of SOEs,” he stated.