Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, is urging the governing boards of State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) in particular to explore long-term progressive plans anchored on constructive strategies in the face of elevated uncertainty, worldwide volatility and national economic concerns.

In his comments about the performance of State Owned Enterprises in 2020, Mr. Ofori-Atta said “we must choose courage over comfort. We must choose what is right over what is fast and easy; and we must prioritize and practice our values and pledge to our nation. This will enable us create stronger operating levers in current and future business cycles as we collectively build forward better.”

SOEs recorded an aggregate loss of ¢2.61 billion in 2020, even though that represents a nearly 50% improvement on the 2019 aggregate net loss of ¢5.16 billion.  Equally impressive is the fact that aggregate revenue outturn for SOEs surged by nearly 20% from 2019’s performance of ¢37.91 billion to ¢45.23 billion in 2020.

JVCs, on the other hand, achieved an aggregate net profit of GH¢11.81 million as compared to a loss of ¢1.05 billion recorded in 2019; representing a significant decline.

The Finance Minister said against this background, the aggregate performance shows that more urgent and collective work is needed.

Out of the 132 SOEs covered, 79 submitted audited financial statements. This represents a marked improvement over the maiden State Ownership Report in 2017, where only five audited financials were submitted for analysis.

Mr. Ofori-Atta however said stringent steps are being taken to ensure that the 41 entities that could not honour their reporting obligations do so in the next reporting cycle.

Other notable enhancements in thereport include a special focus on key entities with high liabilities as well as summary results of the 2020 Performance Contract Evaluation implemented by the State Interest and Governance Authority.

For the first time, the report also features employment data from over 100 entities. Where available, this data has been disaggregated by gender in light of increased focus on gender parity in the modern workplace.