The Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, has sounded the alarm over the mounting operational and financial challenges faced by state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and joint venture companies.

Speaking at the National Economic Dialogue on March 3, Dr. Forson expressed concern about the worsening financial health of these entities, stressing the immediate need for comprehensive restructuring.

“SOEs and joint venture company showing mountain operational and financial risk. Almost all state-owned enterprises are in the red. From ECG to the ADB, almost all of them are in the red.

“This profit is because they failed to service their debt because of the debt suspension…This debt still exists and so we will need to take action to restructure most of the SOEs,” Dr. Forson explained.

He also pointed out that while COCOBOD reported a GHS2.2 billion profit in 2023, this figure is misleading. Dr. Forson explained that the profit was a result of a debt suspension, allowing COCOBOD to avoid debt servicing.

He emphasized that the underlying debt remains unresolved and must be addressed.

“In fact, beginning from the year 2021, 2022, and 2023, you will see that COCOBOD polled some profit of GHS2.2 billion in the year 2023. This is artificial profit.