The contribution of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) to Ghana's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has reached 10% in 2024, marking a significant rise from previous years, President Nana Akufo-Addo has announced.

He made this revelation during the 2024 State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA) Annual Stakeholders Engagement held at the Rock City Hotel in Kwahu-Nkwatia, Eastern Region under the theme, “5 Years of Championing Specified Entities’ Governance and Growth: The Challenges and The Way Forward.”

“I am proud to report that the contributions of our state-owned enterprises to the nation’s GDP have steadily increased from 3% in 2020 to 6% in 2021, and reaching 10% in 2024,” President Akufo-Addo said.

He further highlighted the remarkable decrease in operational irregularities and financial losses among SOEs. "The average losses of state-owned enterprises have fallen sharply from 14.4 billion cedis in 2022 to 2.6 billion cedis in 2024,” he added.

SIGA announced a reduction in the losses incurred by SOEs by GH¢9 million for the 2023 financial year, signifying an 83.13 percent decrease from the previous net loss of GH¢14,402,000 in 2022 to GH¢2,573,000 in 2023.

According to the President, the establishment of SIGA under the SIGA Act 2019 has been instrumental in enhancing the governance, transparency, and accountability of SOEs. He noted that this has not only improved the overall performance of these entities but has also significantly reduced their financial losses.

The President emphasized that the improved performance of SOEs is aligned with his administration’s vision of building a “Ghana Beyond Aid,” in which public enterprises operate efficiently, contributing significantly to national development.

At the event, SIGA’s Director General, John Boadu, also applauded the progress made in compliance and financial reporting among SOEs. He pointed out that prior to SIGA's establishment, only 16 out of 175 specified entities had filed their financial statements and management accounts, and just two had filed audited financial reports.

“In contrast, today, 147 specified entities have filed both their audited financial statements and management accounts as of May 2024,” Boadu revealed.

Despite the positive developments, Dr. Kwabena Donkor, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Public Administration and State Interests, raised concerns over the non-compliance of some SOEs, particularly the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), which has failed to publish its audited accounts since 2017 despite receiving recognition from SIGA.

He called for a review of how SOE executives are appointed and a stronger emphasis on financial accountability, saying, "We cannot celebrate mediocrity in management. These companies must rise up."