SOEs sink in debt while JVs yield GH¢1.5bn profit

By Joshua Worlasi AMLANU

Government-backed joint ventures returned to profit in 2024 with a combined net gain of GH¢1.51billion, even as state-owned enterprises (SOEs) sank deeper into losses on rising finance costs, the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA) said in its annual report.

The JVC sector reversed a loss of GH¢1.33billion in 2023, recording over 213 percent growth. Assets grew nearly 40 percent to GH¢71.billion while companies with minority state ownership contributed most of the dividends paid to government, delivering GH¢1.03billion or 91 percent of total dividend receipts.

By contrast, the SOE sector posted a net loss of GH¢9.67billion in 2024, widening from GH¢7.14 billion the year before according to SIGA’s 2024 State Ownership Report. The losses came despite a 28 percent jump in total revenue to GH¢133.7billion and a turnaround in operating results, with profit before interest and tax increasing to GH¢1.57billion from GH¢377million a year earlier.

“Excessive finance costs of GH¢9.39billion wiped out all operational gains,” the report said.

Entities such as the Electricity Company of Ghana, Ghana Water Company Limited and Cocoa Board continued to drive fiscal risks, alongside persistent underperformance at Tema Oil Refinery and Ghana Cylinder Manufacturing Company.

The report covered 152 entities out of 175 specified enterprises, including 54 SOEs, 30 JVCs and 68 other state entities. While there was a marginal improvement in financial reporting, with 73 audited or draft-audited statements submitted, more than half of entities still relied on management accounts.

Prof. Michael Kpessa-Whyte, Director-General of SIGA, in a statement said the analysis is meant to “inform stakeholders and drive meaningful dialogue around the future of our State-Owned Enterprises, Joint Venture Companies and Other State Entities”.

Despite the overall drag from SOEs, some companies continued to deliver steady returns. The Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, Bui Power Authority, Ghana National Gas Company and Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company reported uninterrupted profitability over the past five years. In 2024 three SOEs, Ghana Reinsurance, TDC and State Housing Company, paid dividends totaling GH¢29.4million – with the latter making a payout for the first time in three decades.

Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson said the performance of SOEs underscores the urgency of reforms.

“The task ahead is immensely difficult, given the dismal nature of the 2024 performance,” he said.

He urged SIGA to enforce strict adherence to financial reporting timelines and penalise non-compliant entities, stressing that taxpayers expect SOEs to “offer an attractive value proposition to Ghanaians as their shareholders”.

SIGA said sustained fiscal discipline, debt management and reforms remain central to restoring SOE performance and reducing the state’s fiscal exposure.

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