IEA wants MPs, ministers barred from serving on State-Owned Enterprise boards
The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) is advocating for a constitutional amendment to bar Ministers, Deputy Ministers and Members of Parliament from serving on the boards of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs).
The Institute says the proposed restriction is necessary to insulate the governance of state-owned institutions from partisan political influence and ensure that appointments are based on competence, professionalism, independence and accountability.
Speaking at a press conference in Accra on Wednesday, September 2, former Chief Justice and Distinguished Fellow at IEA Ghana, Justice Sophia Akuffo, expressed disagreement with the position of the Prof. H. K. Prempeh-led Constitutional Review Committee and the government on how the proposed restriction should be implemented.
She argued that the prohibition should be entrenched in the 1992 Constitution rather than being left to ordinary legislation.
“The governance of SOEs should be based primarily on competence, professionalism, independence and accountability rather than political affiliation,” the IEA stated.
The Constitutional Review Committee had recommended that Ministers, Deputy Ministers and MPs be constitutionally barred from serving on the boards of SOEs.
Government, however, has taken the position that the matter should be addressed through ordinary legislation instead of constitutional amendment.
The IEA has rejected that approach, maintaining that constitutional protection would offer a more effective safeguard against recurring political interference in the administration of state-owned institutions.
“Entrenching this principle in the Constitution would provide stronger protection against recurrent political interference,” the Institute stated.
The IEA has also endorsed a proposal to prevent Members of Parliament from concurrently serving as Ministers, Deputy Ministers or Regional Ministers.
According to the Institute, separating the Legislature from the Executive would strengthen parliamentary oversight and enable MPs to scrutinise government decisions more independently, without being influenced by the prospect of presidential appointments.
The Institute maintained that the proposed reforms are critical to strengthening Ghana’s public institutions, improving accountability and ensuring that state-owned enterprises are managed in the national interest rather than along partisan lines.