President John Dramani Mahama has acknowledged significant shortcomings in the management of Ghana’s state-owned enterprises.

He described the handling of these institutions as uneven and at times haphazard.

Speaking during the swearing-in of the Presidential Group on the Economy at the Jubilee House, the President emphasised the critical need for improved governance and financial discipline within state-run organisations.

“Our handling of state-owned enterprises has also been uneven and at times haphazard,” President Mahama said.

“Weak governance frameworks, political interference and inadequate financial discipline undermine institutions that were once engines of stability and credibility.”

He singled out the cocoa sector as a particular example, noting the failure to raise sustainable funding and the diminished capacity of the Cocoa Board (Cocobod) to syndicate effectively — a role it has successfully fulfilled since the early 1990s.

“This was severely impaired,” the President remarked, highlighting the impact on one of Ghana’s most important economic pillars.

However, President Mahama was careful to stress that these observations were not intended as points of blame, but rather as lessons in responsibility.

“These are not points of blame, they are lessons in responsibility,” he stated, calling on the advisory group to take these realities into account as they provide counsel on the nation’s economic recovery and future stability.