{
  "id": 6591765,
  "title": "Survival is not success for state-owned enterprises – Mahama",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/10/survival-is-not-success-for-state-owned-enterprises-mahama",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-10T12:58:25.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "MyJoyOnline Ghana",
    "slug": "myjoyonline-ghana",
    "url": "https://www.myjoyonline.com/survival-is-not-success-for-state-owned-enterprises-mahama/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "President John Mahama has emphasized that mere survival is no longer sufficient for Ghana's state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Speaking at the SIGA Governing Boards and CEOs' Conference in 2026, Mahama called for stronger performance, stricter financial discipline, and increased accountability across the public enterprise sector. He highlighted that five SOEs had reported losses every year from 2021 to 2025, and the cumulative deficit of all SOEs in 2025 was approximately $10.48 billion, a significant increase from $2.40 billion the previous year. The financial health of certain entities was particularly alarming, with liabilities surpassing net assets by over $41 billion. Mahama stressed the need to shift from isolated successes to a system-wide improvement, emphasizing that SOEs were established to address strategic or market gaps. He stressed that commercial SOEs must be efficient, competitive, and financially sustainable while providing returns on public investment. Public service SOEs must deliver tangible benefits to citizens through reliable services and improved outcomes. Performance should be measured by the tangible benefits created for ordinary Ghanaians, not by the institution's visibility or ability to pay salaries. Boards and management will be evaluated against clear targets in financial, operational, governance, and development areas. Poor performance will lead to corrective actions, including changes in leadership. Performance contracts should be viewed as a covenant with the Ghanaian people, not mere administrative procedures. Targets must be ambitious, realistic, and measurable, with timely, complete, and credible reporting to the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA). SOEs should not rely on the national budget indefinitely to cover poor management. The government will be a responsible shareholder but will not provide indefinite financial support. Profitable SOEs must pay dividends, and returns on public investment should ultimately benefit the people of Ghana. Boards and management are expected to improve revenue generation, control costs, manage debt, protect cash flows, and address structural inefficiencies before they become fiscal risks. Mahama also announced a stronger link between remuneration and institutional performance, aiming to create incentives for better performance and strengthen accountability. Executive pay should reflect an enterprise's financial health, productivity, achievement of targets, service quality, fiscal sustainability, and broader contribution to the state. High-performing enterprises and their leaders should be appropriately rewarded, while chronically poor performance should not continue to attract higher salaries. Mahama stressed that boards and chief executives must cooperate fully with SIGA, the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, and other relevant institutions in compensation reviews and benchmarking. SOEs should not use corporate status or revenue-generating capacity to operate outside approved national remuneration frameworks. He reiterated the distinction between board oversight and executive management, stating that boards are responsible for strategic direction, policy, risk oversight, financial reporting, and institutional performance, while chief executives must deliver results in accordance with the law, government policy, and the strategic direction approved by the board.",
  "summary": "President John Dramani Mahama has warned boards and management of Ghana’s state-owned enterprises (SOEs) that survival can no longer be treated as success, demanding stronger performance, tighter financial discipline and greater accountability across the public enterprise sector.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "GBC Ghana",
        "title": "State-owned enterprises not established merely to pay salaries – Mahama",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/10/state-owned-enterprises-not-established-merely-to-pay-salaries-mahama",
        "published": "2026-09-10T15:47:42.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}