Lawuratu Saaka questions the sustainability of GH¢19.18bn SOE profit, demands scrutiny of figures

By Hubeyidatu Mumuni 

A member of the communication team, Lawuratu Musah Saaka has called for a deeper examination of the GH¢19.18 billion profit reported by State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), questioning how much of the reported gains can be attributed to genuine improvements in operational efficiency.

Speaking on TV3’s New Day, Saaka said although the reported profit was positive news, Ghanaians must go beyond the headline figure and interrogate the factors that contributed to the performance.

“Anything that moves positivity for this country is something that every well-meaning Ghanaian has to be happy about and celebrate,” she said.

She, however, cautioned against celebrating the reported profit without examining the details of the State Ownership and Governance Authority (SIGA) report, particularly the performance and compliance of the various state-owned entities.

Saaka said SIGA was established under the SIGA Act, 2019 (Act 990), among other things, to promote improved operational efficiency, accountability and reporting across state-owned enterprises.

“Why was SIGA set up? Why was Act 990 set up? It was fundamentally to improve operational efficiency, reporting, and all that governs the main reason, because you can’t be putting money into entities and they are always making losses,” she said.

She drew attention to SIGA’s compliance summary, which she said raised questions about the extent to which state-owned entities were meeting key governance and reporting requirements.

According to her, the report showed that while the target for audited financial statements was 177, only 108 were achieved. For performance contracts, the target was 158, but the actual figure stood at 72.

She further cited quarterly reports, where the target was 148 compared with an actual figure of 71, while the target for Annual General Meetings and Extraordinary General Meetings was 177, against an actual figure of 67.

Saaka said these figures should be considered alongside the reported profits before conclusions were drawn about the overall performance of SOEs.

She also questioned the role of exchange-rate gains in the financial performance of some entities, particularly the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).

“One of the key things that is indicated for these profits is the exchange-rate gain. So there was a tailwind when it comes to exchange gain,” she said.

According to her, the critical issue was to determine how much of the reported profit resulted from improved operations rather than favourable exchange-rate movements.

“How much of the GH¢19.18 billion that is being declared is caused by virtue of improved operational efficiency?” she asked.

Saaka stressed that exchange-rate gains should not necessarily be dismissed, but questioned their sustainability as a basis for measuring the long-term performance of state-owned enterprises.

“If it’s about a chunk of it being exchange rate, not to rubbish it, but if a chunk of it is exchange-rate gains, how sustainable is it?” she questioned.

She also raised concerns about the inclusion of the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) in the overall profit figure, arguing that its financial structure differs from that of commercial state-owned enterprises.

“GETFund doesn’t sell goods and doesn’t sell services; it’s to fund education,” she said.

She explained that GETFund receives funds allocated through Parliament for educational purposes and, therefore, questioned whether unspent allocations should be interpreted in the same way as profits generated through commercial operations.

Saaka called for a closer examination of the individual entities and the sources of their reported profits to determine whether the figures reflect genuine improvements in efficiency and financial sustainability.