17 non-operational SOEs to be sold off

Seventeen defunct state-owned entities (SOEs) have been earmarked for disposal as part of efforts to clean up and improve the public enterprises’ portfolio.

The entities billed for disposal include the Aboso Glass Factory, Ghana Food Distribution Corporation, Ghana Food Production Corporation, Bolgatanga Meat Factory, Bonsa Tyres Company Limited, and Ghana Consolidated Diamonds Company Limited.

They have ceased operations for years, with some running into decades, but their assets, made up of landed and movable properties, and their names continue to exist in the public enterprises list.

The Minister of Public Enterprises, Joseph Cudjoe, told journalists that the ministry was seeking to clean the public enterprises’ portfolio with the disposal of the defunct firms and the expungement of their names from the list.

He made the disclosure when he took his turn at the minister’s meet the press series last Wednesday in Accra on the theme Improving the public enterprises portfolio”.

The minister, who declined to mention the names of all the 17 enterprises earmarked for disposal, later explained to the Daily Graphic that the full list had been presented to Cabinet and some of the names might be struck out.

Mr. Cudjoe, however, indicated that the government had approved the implementation of the plan and processes such as valuation, advertisement, and others that needed to be followed in line with the liquidation of the SOEs, adding that the process would be done transparently.

State of defunct enterprises
He said the decision was taken to prevent situations where the entities “just siphon money from the government’s purse as they have become liabilities instead of assets”.
Showing pictures of some of the buildings of some of the public enterprises in dilapidated states, he said disposing of them would help clean up the portfolio and enable the government to invest in active public enterprises to grow and create jobs for the citizenry.
Some of the pictures shown included the central stores of the Aboso Glass Factory, a bungalow that was supposed to house an employee of the Bolgatanga Meat Factory, a clinic of the Bonsa Tyre Factory, a guest house of the State Construction Company, and a property of the Ghana Food Production Company, which were all in deplorable states.

Restructuring
The Ministry for Public Enterprises, with support from the Public Enterprises Secretariat, established in 2021, has a mandate to ensure the effective oversight of the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA) and deliver profitable, efficient, and effective outcomes for the SOEs, Joint Venture Companies (JVCs), and Other State Entities (OSEs), collectively referred to as Specified Entities (SEs).
Currently, Mr. Cudjoe said there are 175 specified entities operating in various sectors of the economy, including 53 SOEs, 47 JVCs, of which the government is part shareholder, and 75 OSEs, including public regulation authorities and commissions.

Apart from the planned disposal, he said the ministry intends to restructure some of the active public enterprises through liquidation, listing on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE), and undertaking strategic investments.

League table
He said the second edition of the Public Enterprises League Table (PELT), a ranking tool for the assessment of the performance of the specified entities, would soon be released.

The PELT is an annual ranking tool for assessing the performance of specified entities based on the performance contract signed between SIGA and the entities.

The number of entities that sign performance contracts with SIGA has also increased from 16 in 2016 to 73 this year, while 95 entities have prepared audited accounts compared to only two in 2016.

Many more entities, he said, were contributing to the whole of the government’s consolidated accounts, which captured all sources and uses of public funds across central and local government.

Source: Graphic Ghana