Ghana’s state enterprise regulator has laid out a structured reform programme aimed at converting the country’s portfolio of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) from fiscal drains into self-sustaining national assets, while issuing its sharpest governance warning to date against conflicts of interest within boardrooms and executive offices.
Prof. Michael Kpessa-Whyte, Director-General of the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA), outlined three concrete initiatives at the authority’s 2026 Annual Stakeholder Conference in Accra on Thursday, March 19, attended by Vice President Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, Ministers of State, Members of Parliament, and the heads of state enterprises.
The first initiative is the development of a dividend payment framework to establish a transparent and predictable system for remitting returns to the state. The second is a 10-year portfolio management strategy designed to reposition SOEs against global benchmarks, shifting them from fiscal liabilities to financially sustainable institutions. The third is the construction of an active investor relations function, intended to move Ghana beyond passive shareholding toward strategic partnership in its joint venture companies.
Prof. Kpessa-Whyte stressed that performance contracting must become universal, while governance lapses, conflicts of interest, and weak internal controls must be addressed to sustain credibility.
Boards put on notice
In some of the most direct remarks at the conference, Prof. Kpessa-Whyte spoke to board chairs, board members, and chief executives present, urging them to treat corporate governance not as a compliance exercise but as the defining line between institutions that serve the nation and those that drain it.
He called for audit and risk committees to function actively rather than symbolically and for internal audit functions to be treated as protective instruments. On procurement and contracting, his message was unambiguous: “When conflicts of interest enter procurement, contracting, recruitment, and decision-making, the institution stops serving the public and starts serving private networks.”
He also set a hard deadline for financial reporting, reminding leaders that audited accounts must be submitted by the statutory April deadline. Prof. Kpessa-Whyte stated that President Mahama expected strict compliance and that failure to meet reporting obligations would not be tolerated.
Mixed performance, targeted concern
SIGA’s oversight coverage has grown from 147 to 152 of the 175 approved specified entities, with compliance on financial reporting improving across the portfolio. Revenue growth was recorded in the energy and financial services sectors, and profitability before interest and tax returned to positive territory over three consecutive fiscal years.
Three entities, Ghana Reinsurance Company, TDC Company Limited, and State Housing Company, paid dividends totalling GH¢29.36 million to the government in 2024, an increase of nearly 79 percent from the previous year.
However, the SOE sector recorded a deepened net loss of GH¢9.67 billion in 2024, compared to GH¢7.14 billion in 2023, driven primarily by finance costs of GH¢9.39 billion that eroded all operational gains. SIGA identified the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Ghana Water Limited, and COCOBOD as entities where restructuring can no longer be deferred.
The conference concluded with the Public Enterprises League Table and Awards, SIGA’s benchmarking exercise for specified entities, for which attendance was declared mandatory. “Accountability must be seen, not whispered,” Prof. Kpessa-Whyte said.
