Stephen Asamoah Boateng

The Executive Director of the State Interest and Governance Authority, Stephen Asamoah Boateng, says Chief Executive Officers (CEO) of State-Owned Enterprises risk sacking if they underperform at the end of the 2021 fiscal year.

Some 71 out of the 126 state enterprises today signed a performance contract that allows for assessment and evaluation of their work at the end of the year.

The appraisal, according to Mr Boateng, is to make the state enterprises competitive and profit-making oriented.

Documents available to Joy News suggest that 47 enterprises failed from 2016 to date to submit their annual financial statement, in flagrant disregard of the financial management Act.

Also, as of the end of 2019, only 14 state enterprises had complied with the Finance Minister’s directive to do so.

But SIGA, the umbrella body of state enterprises, is hoping to change the narrative.

Mr Boateng said there are various punitive measures in the performance contract that will push the CEO to comply with laid down rules including exercising good corporate governance.

”We at SIGA have the authority to recommend for the termination of contract of any CEO that fails to deliver and beyond the call for dismissal we can also ask the appointing authority [Office of the President] to block bonus payment or salaries. And we believe this will push them to work efficiently,” he said.

On the lack of compliance with the Public Financial Management Act, he said those erring state enterprises have been given time to comply.