IMF is not attacking NDC, it is attacking bipartisan politicisation of SOEs – Prof Kwaku Azar

Legal scholar and social commentator Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare, popularly known as Kwaku Azar, has rejected suggestions that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has targeted the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) over concerns about political appointments to the boards of state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

His comments follow criticism of the IMF after the Fund cited the composition of the current boards of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) and Volta River Authority (VRA) in its latest assessment of Ghana’s SOE governance.

The IMF said boards of major SOEs are largely dominated by political appointees, with board chairs frequently being ministers, Members of Parliament or prominent party officials.

It recommended stronger governance arrangements, including merit-based board and management selection, while noting that formal and transparent procedures for selecting SOE board members and chief executives remain insufficiently institutionalised.

Reacting to the report, the Majority Leader in Parliament and MP for South Dayi Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor accused the IMF of being biased against the NDC.

However, Prof. Azar argued that the current GPHA and VRA appointments were cited as illustrations of a broader structural problem rather than as an attack on the NDC government.

“The IMF is not attacking the ruling party. It is attacking a bipartisan bad habit,” Prof. Azar said in a social media post on Friday, September 11.

He said the concern should also apply to similar appointments made by previous administrations and any future government that maintains the current system.

“A structural problem does not become partisan merely because its most current examples have names,” he stated.

Prof. Azar said the central issue is the politicisation of SOE boards, which he argued could weaken their independence, professional judgement and accountability.

“The IMF is not the problem here. The problem is the bipartisan politicisation of SOEs, which has weakened their independence, professionalism, accountability and performance,” Prof. Azar said.

The IMF’s broader assessment also identified persistent fiscal and governance risks within Ghana’s SOE sector and called for reforms to strengthen oversight, financial transparency and performance.