“Don’t meddle in SOEs day-to-day affairs” — Mahama warns Boards Chairs

President John Dramani Mahama has warned Board Chairs of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) against crossing the line between governance and management, stressing that Boards must provide strategic oversight without taking control of the daily operations of their institutions.

He cautioned Board Chairpersons against occupying offices within their respective entities and reporting to work every day as though they were full-time executives.

President Mahama issued the warning at the 2026 SIGA Governing Boards and CEOs Conference, held on the theme: “Creating Public Value Through Leadership, Corporate Governance and Performance Excellence.”

He said Boards had a critical responsibility to set strategic direction, provide policy guidance, oversee risk and ensure the integrity of financial reporting and institutional performance.

“A Board is not a ceremonial position. A membership is not an advertisement. A board is responsible for the strategic direction, policy, riskable insights, integrity of financial reporting, and the institutional performance,” the President said.

According to him, executive authority must be viewed as a responsibility that can be measured against results rather than as a personal privilege.

“it is a measurable responsibility to develop, deliver results in accordance with the law, government policy, and strategic direction that is approved by the board.

“A certain distinction must remain clear. A Board governs and Management manages.”

The President warned that when Boards become involved in routine operational decisions, they undermine accountability and create unnecessary interference in the work of management.

He consequently charged Boards to exercise their oversight functions with independence, competence and integrity, while Chief Executives are expected to manage their institutions effectively and produce measurable results.

President Mahama further warned that Board members and Chief Executives who consistently place public entities beyond lawful oversight would be demonstrating an unwillingness to account for public resources.

He said such conduct would be a major consideration in determining whether responsible appointees should remain in office.

“Every board must exercise oversight with independence, competence, and integrity. Every chief executive must manage effectively and deliver results that are measurable. Every specified entity must account transparently accurately and on time,” he stated.

The President said the protection of public assets must remain a central responsibility of every Board and management team, adding that those assets must be deployed to create tangible value for Ghanaians.

He directed Boards, in the next reporting cycle, to work with management to establish a limited number of measurable priorities covering financial performance, service delivery, governance, risk management, audits, compliance and contributions to national development.

He said the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA) must monitor those priorities and ensure that institutional performance was made visible.

According to President Mahama, strong performance would be recognised, while shortcomings would require targeted improvement measures. Persistent failure, resistance to oversight and misuse of public resources, he warned, would attract consequences.

He challenged Board Chairs, Board Members and Chief Executives to return to their institutions and assess the value they were creating for Ghanaians, who ultimately own the public assets entrusted to their care.

“The answer is clear and evidence based. The country will recognise your contribution. If not, reform must be implemented immediately. Leadership must deliver results. Corporate governance must protect the public interest.”

President Mahama also stressed that performance must be assessed honestly and without favour, while cooperation with SIGA must be complete and mandatory.

For his part, the Director-General of SIGA, Professor Kpesa Whyte, said the 2025 State Ownership Report had been released at an important stage in Ghana’s efforts to strengthen governance, accountability and performance across its portfolio of state enterprises and investments.

He said the report reflected a renewed national commitment to transparency, responsible stewardship and the creation of sustainable public value from assets held in trust for the people of Ghana.

Professor Whyte noted that although the 2025 report was the second State Ownership Report published under the current administration, it was the first to fully reflect President Mahama’s stewardship following his return to office.