President Akufo-Addo has charged the management and board members of the newly created State Interest and Governance Authority (SIGA) to ensure the efficient and profitable management of State Owned Enterprises among others.
SIGA also has oversight responsibility over Joint Venture Companies (JVC) and Other State Entities (OSEs).
Speaking at the turn of the launch of the State Interest and Governance Authority as part of the 2019 Policy and Governance Forum at the Kempinski Gold Coast Hotel, President Akufo-Addo urged the board members of SIGA to ensure that the institutions under them live up to their mandate.
“There should be no reason why SIGA, which has its collaborative institutions embedded in almost all the critical sectors of the economy such as energy, mining, agriculture, financial and allied services, ICT and regulatory agencies, should be found wanton in the discharge of its mandate,” the President said.
SIGA
SIGA is the acronym of a body corporate established with the passage of the State Interests & Governance Authority Act 2019 (Act 990) in June 2019; with the mandate to oversee and administer the state’s interests in state-owned enterprises, joint venture companies and other state entities and to provide for related matters.
With the Presidential assent of SIGA given on 7th June, 2019, the laws which estabiished both the State Enterprises Commission (SEC) and the Divestiture Implementation Committee (DIC) are repealed; with their assets and liabilities transferred to the new entity. With this development, President Akufo-Addo indicated that, “It simply means that SIGA will now be performing the functions of the two defunct entities. He added that” Beyond that, there are some additional powers that have been conferred on SIGA under the new Act” to ensure their effectiveness.
Accountability of Managers of SOEs, JVCs
On the issue of the responsibility placed on board members and corporate executives who are appointed to manager SOEs and JVC, the President indicated that the New Act has made provisions to ensure that they are accountable for the positions they hold.
“Another critical provision under Section 7 of the new Act ensures that the days when board members and corporate executives flout rules and regulations and are left off the hook are over. As per the act, a member of the board who contravenes subsection 1 or 2, commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not less than 3,000 penalty units, or to a term of imprisonment no less than 5 years and not more than 10 years or to both. The fore going is a strong indication of the extent to which the barometer of corporate governance and executive decision making has been lifted,” the President pointed out.
Minister for Planning
Corroborating the position of the President that State Owned Enterprises, Joint Venture Companies and Other State Entities have either collapsed or are struggling, the Minister for Planning, Professor Gyan Baffour, indicated that many of the SOEs have not been able to submit their audited financials. He added that over the last two years, government has engaged the SOEs for them to submit same but to no avail. Government he says is hopeful that with the introduction of the SIGA, SOEs and JVCs will be better managed and regulated to ensure their efficiency.
Rationale Behind SIGA
SIGA is designed to provide a far better ownership and governance framework for SOEs, JVCs, OSEs than previously existed. This is to increase shareholder value and better return on investment; provide better coordination among state entities (commercial and non-commercial) and other stakeholders, enhance the capacity of heads and employees to deliver on their core mandate in the changing environment and to give customer and consumer satisfaction.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Wilberforce Asare
