President Inaugurates 9-Member SIGA Board

By Yaw Kyei

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has inaugurated a nine-member board to provide direction to the newly established State Interest and Governance Authority (SIGA).

Chaired by Mr Terrace Darko, the board has Mr Stephen Asamoah Boateng, Director General of SIGA, Kow Essuman, representative from the Office of the President and David Collison, representative from the Ministry of Finance.

The rest are Franklin Owusu Asafo Adjei, a representative of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Ghana, Felix Intrakwah, representative of the Ghana Bar Association, Yasmin Baba, Dr Margaret Duah Atuahene and Elikem Kunyehia, nominees of President Akufo-Addo.

SIGA was launched on August 19, 2019, to assume the role of the State Enterprises Commission (SEC) and the Divestiture Implementation Committee (DIC).

The authority is expected to ensure an efficiency and financial viability of SOEs and help them deliver on their mandate. All the assets and liabilities of the defunct SEC and the DIC has been transferred to the SIGA.

The President urged the board of SIGA to streamline the activities of the State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) to make them profitable to the country.

He said the Board should not be bound by the old ways of its predecessors and urged them to help develop a new culture of accountability to enable state-owned enterprises, joint venture companies and other state entities give value to the country.

"SIGA is a new institution and my expectation is that you would help develop a new culture and should not be bound by the old culture and practices of its predecessors."

"It is a general agreement that these old institutions did not work in the interest of our people and our country and that is the reason why a new authority has been brought into being.

"So, the attitude must be new king new law, a new authority a new culture, a culture of accountable governance and of respecting the norms, sensibilities and practice of good corporate governance not only amongst yourself but almost the institutions that report to you," he said.

While acknowledging the importance of SOEs to the overall business and economic architecture of the country, the President said it was time those institutions played productive roles in the development of Ghana's economy.

"God knows enough of public resources of our country have been sunk into these institutions so far, we have had very little dividend from them.

"Whatever have been the problems in the past, all of those have been swept away by Statute to create this new body and it is expected that you work in such a way that this new body will be able to make a positive impact on the growth of the national economy.

"We expecting very high standards from you people on the board including the chairman and other members... all very bespoke and significant members of our society with very good credentials. So, a lot of hope is being placed on your performance and your attitudes," he told the board members.

President Akufo-Addo was confident that the members of the board had what it took to bring a special bearing to the work of the Authority.

"We are looking at you to be able to straighten things out and make sure that we get the dividends we are seeking," the President said.

Felix Intrakwah who spoke for the board assured that the body would live up to the challenge of the task given them and would work to ensure the desired change.

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