Economist Professor Peter Quartey has urged the government to strictly enforce performance targets for state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to reduce inefficiencies and curb financial losses.

His comments follow the government’s directive that loss-making SOEs should not award bonuses to management, boards and staff. A move aimed at improving accountability and financial discipline.

Speaking on Joy FM's Super Morning Show, Professor Quartey stressed the importance of holding Chief Executive Officers accountable and ensuring that leadership appointments are based on competence rather than political lobbying.

He added that implementing well-designed Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for SOE executives could significantly address issues of non-performance and incompetence.

“If you have KPIs in place to monitor performance, it can cure, to a large extent, the problem of people not performing, or somebody who is not competent lobbying their way into a position,” he explained.

Professor Quartey noted that while systemic challenges remain, there is reason for optimism if leadership is committed to enforcing accountability and ensuring that the right measures are taken.

“There is some hope out there, but it depends on leadership. It depends on the leader’s commitment to ensure that the right things are done,” he noted.