Joseph Cudjoe, the minister of public enterprises, has listed a few of the state-owned companies whose assets the government is selling. The government plans to sell the assets of approximately 17 shut-down SOEs, the minister announced last week.
However, he clarified that the action is intended to secure private investments for the enterprises and have a cascading effect on the communities in which they are located.
The Minister said in an interview as quoted by citinewsroom.com that the move is “…to make sure we secure our private investments into it through government decision to sell them off into private hand so that they will be invested into to develop them to bring jobs to that area.”
Ten of the SOEs are:
Ghana National Trading Corporation State Construction Corporation
State Fishing Corporation,
UAC Aboso Glass Factory Bungalow of the Bolgatanga Meat Factory
Bonsa Tyre Factory’s Clinic
Research laboratory of the Ghana Consolidated Diamonds
The regional office of the Ghana Food Production Corporation at Srodae
The decision to sell off the assets of these SOEs according to the Minister is a means for the government to save costs.
According to a Government-commissioned study completed in 2019, the total market value of the State’s equity holding in 63 active Specified Entities was estimated to be GHS 35.7 billion as of December 2016, as disclosed by the Minister.
Out of this amount, State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) constituted 92 percent of the total value, while the remaining eight percent represented the State’s equity in Joint Venture Companies (JVCs).
To enhance the management and performance of the SOEs, the government expressed its intentions to restructure some of them. The proposed restructuring methods included listing them on the Ghana Stock Exchange, liquidation, strategic investment, and outright disposal.
In a bid to ensure better efficiency and effectiveness in managing the SOEs, the Minister further revealed that in 2021, the government introduced a Public Enterprises League Table (PELT). This tool was designed to assess the performance of the Specified Entities and foster healthy competition among them, thereby driving improved performance.