Minister charges management of state enterprises to be efficient

The Minister of Public Enterprises, Joseph Cudjoe, has charged the management of state enterprises to discharge their duties with maximum efficiency in order to make their entities profitable as well as pay dividends to the government.

He made the call during the inauguration of the nine-member Board of State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA) in Accra.

According to the Minister, it is only when that is achieved that the full impact of their value creation and contribution to development in the society would be felt by all.

“I note with joy that all of you have the background, skills and experience to serve in your positions with courage, expertise and diligence to meet the expectations of the President,” Mr Cudjoe said.

Charge

Mr Cudjoe explained the importance of state enterprises, adding that “they would continue to remain a relevant feature of government intervention for societal and public value creation”.

“This is because state enterprises play very key roles in all sectors of the economy and are an influential force for advancing government policies and programmes. In the last five years, the ministry had been encouraged that some of the state enterprises increased their staff numbers yet remained profitable,” he noted.

He added that the motivation for creating state enterprises ranges from a number of reasons, including growth of strategic sectors and boosting the national economy.

Touching on technology, Mr Cudjoe advised state enterprises to leverage technology and innovation to drive development and new thinking in an era of digitalisation.

“Leadership of state enterprises must therefore be strategic, efficient and effective in using technology and innovation to drive profitability by looking at external markets,” he advised.

Meanwhile, Mr Cudjoe bemoaned the situation where some state enterprises had performed below expectations over the years.

Chaired by businessman Mr Terrence Darko, the board also has the Director-General of SIGA, Mr Edward Boateng, Ms Yasmin Baba and Mr Franklin Asafo-Adjaye as members.

The rest of the members are Mr Kow Essuman, Dr Margaret Atuahene, Mr Elikem Nutifafa Kuenyehia and Mr David Collison. The former Director-General of SIGA, Asamoah-Boateng, was also in attendance to grace the occasion.