Director-General’s Speech at the 2021 Performance Contract Signing Ceremony
WELCOME ADDRESS DELIVERED BY HON. STEPHEN ASAMOAH-BOATENG, DIRECTOR GENERAL, STATE INTERESTS AND GOVERNANCE AUTHORITY AT THE ANNUAL PERFORMANCE SIGNING CEREMONY AT THE MOVENPICK HOTEL ON MONDAY 26TH JULY, 2021.
Mr President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana,
Honourable Ministers of State
Members of Parliament
CEOs/Director Generals/Managing Directors/Executive Secretaries/General Managers of Specified Entities
Your Excellency the French Ambassador
The Country Director, the World Bank Group;
The Country Director of Agence Francaise De Developpment
General Managers and Financial Officers of All the Entities
General Managers Finance and Administration and Operations of SIGA
Media members
Distinguished invited Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
Introduction
I am indeed delighted to welcome you Mr President and all of us to this Second Annual Performance Contract Signing Ceremony on behalf of the people of Ghana.
I particularly wish to thank you Mr President for appointing my good self to spearhead this whole transformation agenda from the State Enterprises Commission then joining with the DIC (Divestiture Implementation Committee) to get SIGA into existence and to oversee and administer the interest of the State in our State-Owned Enterprises, Joint Venture Companies and other State Entities.
I also thank you Mr President for your unflinching support and guidance in our pursuit to turn the fortunes of these entities around.
Setting Up SIGA
As I have just said, the President created all the necessary conditions for the realisation of SIGA SIGA is the regulator holding government shares sole supervisory body for regulating, holding government shares and ensuring that Specified Entities (SEs) adhere to good corporate governance practices. This guarantees that businesses effectively perform in ways that generate profit and then pay dividends to help in the running of the government development agenda for the people of Ghana.
Consistent with the above objective, the SIGA Act 990 enjoins all specified Entities to negotiate a contract upon which their performance can be accessed every year, monitored and then they are evaluated.
This is the reason Mr President why we are here this morning.
Mr. President, Ministers of State, today we have assembled about 71 specified entities that have successfully negotiated their contracts. The CEOs are here to sign their contracts and some already have done just to give us some room.
Success Stories
Mr President, , the road to actualise the SIGA act has not being smooth, but I must say that from last year till date a lot has been achieved especially judging by the number of entities now taking part in today’s event. We have had to work really hard and I must be quick to add that most of the Sector Ministers have been very supportive Mr President. Some Entities who felt that they did not fall under SIGA ambit, have joined when their respective Ministers, have explained the rationale for SIGA and benefits of signing this performance contract. I’m grateful to the ministers.
As the Director General, I have built a team of experts with excellent pedigree in their professional careers who have ensured that the process involved in getting to the signing of these contracts and the follow-ups of the monitoring and evaluation, builds respectable relationships that produces a win-win situation for the entities as well as the government.
I cannot leave here without talking about the support and cooperation I am enjoying from my new Minister, Hon. Joseph Cudjoe, MP for Effia, Minister for Public Enterprises. A man who has hit the ground running long before he was given the office to operate in
His extensive work and consultancy for both Public and Private sector Enterprises gives him the advantage of understanding how well the Public Sector can do from the capital injection government has made to these entities. And his mantra is to get all of them to make profits and pay dividends to the State.
I cannot forget the effort of the former minister Mr President you assigned to us, Dr. Kwaku Afriyie who left no stone unturned as the Minister in charge of SIGAI have no doubt that it was due to his efforts as a Minister of State that His Excellency found him another new equally challenging suitable to head a new but equally challenging sector, the Ministry of Environment Science Technology and Innovation.
Challenges
Mr President, Your Excellency, Hon. Ministers, despite these successes, we are yet to receive the full complement of the Specified Entities coming on-board. In terms of supervision, some of the ministries have become quite attached to their respective Entities and have found it difficult to let SIGA conduct its mandate. So we would plead with the Ministers that as some of you are doing, the rest would advise the Entities that it’s good to sign this contract so we can monitor and evaluate their work..
There have been several instances where there are different directions given and we believe this can be ironed out.
Conclusion
Mr President, I am grateful for your time this morning, I know how busy you are and I’m grateful that all my CEOs and Boards who have assembled here and for the cooperation they give to SIGA, we believe it will continue and for them to make profits and to pay dividends which the Minister of Finance is always asking me to make sure you pay dividends.
Mr. President on this note, I welcome all of you to today’s event. Thank you so much. On this note, I welcome you all, once again to this ceremony and I hope you have a wonderful time.