Profit-making State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) in the country paid over GH₵194 million in dividends to the government last year.
This amount largely comes from firms where the government holds a minority share.
According to the 2023 State Ownership Report by the State Interest and Governance Authority (SIGA), companies with minority government ownership contributed GH₵139,691,792, accounting for 71.89% of the total dividends. Fully government-owned SOEs paid GH₵6,200,000, representing 3.19%, while joint venture companies contributed GH₵48,191,515, making up 24.83% of the total.
The SOE sector posted a profit before tax of GH₵4.6 million, a significant improvement from the GH₵9.6 million loss recorded in 2022, reflecting an 80% improvement.
The SIGA report highlighted that SOEs contributed around 27% to the country’s domestic growth, a more than 50% increase from the previous year.
Project Lead Eric Bonsu Agyabeng, presenting the sector performances, noted that the banking and financial sector faced significant losses due to the domestic debt exchange program.
“Despite some losses in state entities, the government still received over GH₵194 million in dividends from minority shareholding firms, which we consider an impressive outcome,” Agyabeng stated.
Director General of SIGA, John Boadu, emphasized that some losses were expected, particularly from SOEs providing essential services.
“Not all of these entities are profit-driven; some, like ECG and Ghana Water, are tasked with providing essential services, often without profit motives. However, we will continue to monitor these entities to ensure their losses are manageable,” he explained.
During a media briefing, Minister for Public Enterprises, Joseph Cudjoe, praised the report and urged SIGA to continue its efforts to enhance accountability in the public sector.
This year’s State Ownership Report covered 147 entities, the highest number since the it inception.
Source: Adomonline
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