State enterprises must sign performance contracts — SIGA
The Director-General (DG) of the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA), Professor Michael Kpessah-Whyte, has urged state enterprises to sign performance contracts as it offers a better framework to evaluate their performance for better delivery.
He indicated that SIGA's role was not to control or micro-manage the affairs of state institutions but to “evaluate the performance of state entities, ensuring they meet their targets and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and compliance”.
Prof. Kpessah-Whyte was speaking at a meeting with the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of state enterprises in Accra yesterday on the performance contracts organised by SIGA.
Prof. Kpessah-Whyte expressed concern about the hesitance of some state entities to commit to corporate governance, particularly in signing performance contracts.
He said those who failed to sign these contracts tended to operate without clear targets, leading to inefficiencies.
He emphasised that the commitment to signing performance contracts was not about individual personalities or egos but about ensuring administrative purity and good corporate governance in state institutions.
The DG of SIGA highlighted that some institutions, including the Bank of Ghana, which had previously not committed to it had shown willingness to sign performance contracts, while others had been slow to commit.
Reports
He emphasised that signing performance contracts was crucial if SIGA was to perform its functions effectively.
He said as part of enhancing the efficient operation of state entities, SIGA “produces an annual State Ownership Report, which assesses the financial and operational performance of state entities”, as weIl as “an annual Institutional Governance and Performance Assessment (IGPA) report, which evaluates the governance and performance of individual state entities, focusing on board decision-making, membership and compliance with the president's vision”.
He added that the last State Ownership Report generated significant public discussion, highlighting the need for improved governance and accountability.
Role of SIGA and Ghana’s Progression
For his part, the Presidential Advisor on the Economy, Seth Terkper, said SIGA, having evolved from the State Enterprises Commission, now had oversight over all institutions where the state had an interest, extending beyond just profit-making entities.
He urged SIGA and the state enterprises to commit to the KPIs and ensure efficiency in their service delivery and earn some dividend for the government.
The Presidential Advisor highlighted that state enterprises’ performance also affected the overall performance of the country, which translated into its economic status as a middle-income country and borrowing terms on the world stage.
The Presidential Advisor indicated that while Ghana remained among the lower-middle-income countries, he expressed optimism that with prudent management of its rich resources and continued investor attraction, the nation could ascend to an upper-middle-income status.
Adherence
He urged the state enterprises to adhere to the constitutional and financial contexts governing state entities, indicating the pivotal role of the Public Services Commission as enshrined in chapters 13 (finance) and 15 of the Constitution in the state's organisational structure.
Mr Terkper also highlighted the disconnect between political manifestos and actual development blueprints, arguing that this gap often left Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) without a clear strategic direction.
He advocated a fundamental realignment beginning with the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), ministries, departments and agencies, ensuring that all updated strategic plans were consistent with the existing medium-term framework.
He emphasised the need for the country to synchronise its national development plans with its fiscal realities.
He explained that the effective performance across government ministries, departments and agencies as well as state-owned enterprises, fundamentally relied on robust framework of strategic objectives, programmes and objectives.
He also emphasised the necessity of synchronising these plans with the financial year and medium-term national development plan; saying, “one of the biggest tasks we have is to synchronise it to the finance ministry”.
