Mr. Edward Boateng, Director General of State Interests Governance Authority (SIGA), has disclosed that the Authority is working to ensure that Specified Entities (SE) contribute 50 per cent of their revenue to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
According to the Director General, if state agencies are able to contribute half of the revenue they make to the government, it would be a huge avenue for Small and Medium Enterprises to develop and create more employment for national growth. This, he explained that the SMEs would get funds to develop their businesses.
Mr. Boateng noted that SIGA controls about 50 per cent of national assets yet it is contributing less than five per cent to the country’s GDP. However, he added that in the last few months, its contribution was able to move from 15 per cent to 21 per cent.
Mr. Boateng indicated that since January 2022, the Authority has more than 47 Specified Entities, and out of which 19 filed their management accounts to the Ministry of Finance.
“When this trend continues, we will have a bigger national cake where the government can borrow at lower interest rates and the ripple effects will be on the entire country.”
Mr. Edward Boateng
Public Sector Plays Key Role in Transformation of Ghana
Mr Boateng moreover, averred that the public sector played a key role in the transformation of the country with collaboration with the private sector.
“When we say the private sector is the engine of growth, it means the public sector must design effective policy for it to thrive. The private sector cannot be the engine of growth when the public sector is weak.”
Mr. Edward Boateng
The Director General noted that the Authority has instituted interventions through stakeholder discussions to address issues concerning the filing of financial reports on time to the Ministry to help in the proper planning of government developmental agenda.
The Authority, Mr. Boateng stated would from 2023 publish the names of companies, the Chief Executive Officers, and Board Chairpersons that failed to submit their financial reports on time, adding that the motive is to ensure they comply with the Public Finance Management and the SIGA Acts.
One of such initiatives, he stated, was the private engagement of Board Chairpersons of State Entities with Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta, the Minister of Finance on good corporate governance and productivity.
SIGA was established on June 7, 2019, under the SIGA Act 2019 (ACT 990) with the mandate to oversee and administer the performance of SOEs, JVCs, and OSEs.
Currently, there are 183 SEs in the Government’s records consisting of 51 State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), 43 Joint Venture Companies (JVCs) and 89 Other State Entities (OSEs).
As of the end of December 2021, only 31 out of 51 SOEs, representing 61 per cent, 22 out of the 89 OSEs representing 25 per cent, and 22 out of 43 JVCs, representing 51 per cent, had submitted audited financial statements to the Finance Ministry.
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