Franklin Cudjoe urges SOE reforms after praising economic recovery

Chief Executive of IMANI Center for Policy and Education, Franklin Cudjoe, has called for sweeping reforms of State-Owned Enterprises despite praising Ghana’s recent economic recovery under the government.

Writing in an article following Ghana’s exit from the International Monetary Fund bailout programme, Mr. Cudjoe said the country must now focus on strengthening resilience and reducing waste within public enterprises.

“We need to remain disciplined and reduce losses by State-Owned Enterprises, which cost governments approximately $2 billion annually,” he stated.

According to him, many struggling SOEs should either be shut down, merged or restructured under competent independent management to improve efficiency and profitability.

“Quite a number of SOEs must be axed outright, others merged, and still others injected with independent, world-class management to return profit because they are enterprises, not social care homes,” he wrote.

Mr. Cudjoe’s comments came as he commended the administration of John Dramani Mahama for what he described as a strong economic turnaround after years of instability.

He argued that Ghana had witnessed major improvements in inflation, debt management, foreign reserves, and currency stability under the current administration.

“The fastest economic recovery in Ghana’s history has been recorded and achieved by version 2.0 of the Mahama-led government,” he said.

The policy analyst also praised the economic management team led by Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Baah Forson for managing the IMF programme inherited from the previous administration.

“Buoyed by confidence, candour, and transparency, the government’s finance team, competently led by Dr. Ato Forson, carefully choreographed how to work with the IMF programme they inherited,” he noted.

Mr. Cudjoe further welcomed the government’s transition from the IMF Extended Credit Facility programme to the Policy Coordination Instrument, describing the move as a credible strategy to maintain investor confidence and fiscal discipline after the bailout.

Ghana recently concluded its $3 billion Extended Credit Facility arrangement with the IMF after completing the 2026 Article IV Consultation and the sixth review under the programme. The transition officially ended the country’s borrowing arrangement with the Fund and marked the beginning of a non-financing monitoring framework under the IMF’s Policy Coordination Instrument.