State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) in Ghana paid over GH₵194 million in dividends to the government in 2023.
According to the 2023 State Ownership Report by the State Interest and Governance Authority (SIGA), the majority of this revenue, GH₵139.7 million or 71.89%, came from firms in which the government holds a minority stake.
Fully government-owned SOEs contributed GH₵6.2 million, while joint venture companies paid GH₵48.2 million, making up 3.19% and 24.83% of the total dividends, respectively.
The report highlighted that the SOE sector posted a profit before tax of GH₵4.6 million, a remarkable recovery from a GH₵9.6 million loss in 2022, representing an 80% improvement.
Project Lead Eric Bonsu Agyabeng attributed some of the sector’s challenges to significant losses in the banking and financial sectors, primarily due to the domestic debt exchange program.
“Despite some losses in state entities, the government still received over GH₵194 million in dividends from minority shareholding firms, which we consider an impressive outcome,” Agyabeng said during the report’s presentation.
Minister for Public Enterprises, Joseph Cudjoe, praised SIGA for its role in driving accountability within the public sector and urged for continued efforts.
SIGA’s Director General, John Boadu, also emphasized the importance of managing SOE losses, particularly among entities providing essential services, such as the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and Ghana Water Company.
“Not all of these entities are profit-driven, but we will continue to monitor them closely,” Boadu noted.
The 2023 report covered 147 entities, the highest number since the report’s inception.
