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President of the Republic of Ghana, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has stated that the Ghana Beyond Aid agenda is critical in the state-owned enterprises (SOEs) running efficiently.

President Akufo-Addo added that the efficiency of the state-owned enterprises can contribute positively to the nation’s transformational agenda even in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Delivering his keynote address at the 2021 performance contract signing ceremony for specified entities under the theme “Driving The Implementation Of Performance Enhancement Measures In SOEs, JVCs And Other State Entities”, President Akufo-Addo recounted that Ghana’s economy had been better until the onset of the Covid-19 some 16 months ago.

He noted that prior to the onset of the Covid-19, the government had introduced a number of policies and programs which have succeeded in being modesty in promoting a business-friendly environment, attracting investments, creating jobs, growing the economy and enhancing the living standards of the Ghanaian people.

“Today, some 16 months later, these achievements have been significantly eroded, thanks to Covid-19. Whereas there are positive signs of recovery emerging from many parts of the world, there are still some countries that are facing dire conditions”, President Akufo-Addo noted.

President Akufo-Addo however posited that the nation Ghana, through hard work and the grace of God, has been placed firmly back on the path of recovery based on the incredible assessment available to the government.

“…even in the midst of the global challenges, our economy is one of the very few to record positive GDP growth in 2020. This development is being buttressed forward by the first quarter of 2021 according to the Ghana Statistical Service…even better is the fact that according to Fits Solutions, Ghana is projected to be the fastest-growing economy in Africa this year”, the President hinted.

The President of the Republic of Ghana further commended the management of the State Entities based on the activities of the Board and SIGA for contributing to this positive development in the midst of this unknown fold.

President Akufo-Addo acknowledged the historical difficulties the nation has had in the past which have been symptomatic Ghana’s underperforming Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) can be attributed to the facilitation of the comprehensive strategic approach to manage the Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs), conflicting objectives, despair monitoring systems, lack of transparency and weak lines of accountability.

“Upon our assumption of office back in January 2017, we had to spend a significant amount of our time, addressing the challenges we inherited from our predecessors which almost crippled the SMEs. These include legacy debts, low working capital, weak corporate governance structures, multiplicities of stakeholder policy, directors with the overlapping and conflicting objectives in despairs monitoring systems”, he stated.

He maintained that the establishment procedure which is being harnessed by the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA) has been key in helping to resolve some of these concerns even though there is room for improvement.

President Akufo-Addo noted that in order for the state entities to support the nation’s development, there should be a need for a resilient institutional framework that will allow these entities to execute their mandate diligently.