Recruitment of 'party boys' into top SOEs positions problematic – Dalex Finance

Mr Ken Thompson CEO of Dalex Finance

Recruitment of party loyalists into top managerial positions in the public and civil service sector does not augur well for productivity.

“The problem is that it’s very difficult for political appointees to perform even with the required qualifications. Because they are appointed as a reward for something they have done in the past.

"Some of the things they might have done in the past included being a serial caller, cooking for party delegates, providing chairs during constituency elections, offering accommodation for party officials, among others," Mr Kenneth Thompson Chief Executive Officer of Dalex Finance stated in reaction to recent agitations about the remuneration of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) and the workers’ neutrality allowance for civil servants.

“So he or she has done the work already and is being rewarded and therein lies the problem,” Mr. Thompson, who was interacting with some media personnel in Tema as monitored by the Communication for Development and Advocacy Consult (CDA Consult) in Tema on Thursday noted.

Mr. Thompson, therefore, adjudged the situation as a bottleneck in the appointment procedure of the State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Chief Executive Officers and Board of Directors which according to him hinders the maximum performance and the general output of state entities.

He said even though the Board of Directors and Chief Executives of State-Owned Enterprises, every year sign a performance contract with the government due to the political influence and connections they are not held accountable for the terms of the contract.

Mr. Thompson said the performance contract has become an annual media ritual to send a certain signal to the public that the public officials are performing while in reality, only a few are carrying the load of governance.

He noted that the poor performance of CEOs of most SOEs has contributed to the collapse, or liquidation owing to mismanagement and lack of planning.

“It is hard for SOEs managers to perform as most often their appointment was as a reward for the work done politically, not necessarily based on competence, and their performance is not tied to any performance benchmarks.

“Some of these contested for Parliamentary Elections and lost but their general contribution to the party winning the general elections must be rewarded through the appointment as CEOs, board members, and other political positions,” Mr. Thompson stated.

Mr. Thompson explained the hue and cry is not about the quantum of the compensation but the fact that the compensation is not linked to performance.

“The issue is not how much they are paid. The issue in the public domain is the justification for the huge compensations that most of these CEOs received for doing practically nothing while their staffs are poorly rewarded but they are tasked to undertake all the workload,” he said.

The Dalex Finance CEO also appealed to the government to make infrastructure and equipment available to SOEs so they can in turn work effectively and produce better results.

He called on the government to promote SOEs by providing adequate Information Communication and Technology at workplaces since working with good equipment and materials in an enabling environment is essential.