We shall surmount the hurdles – Acting D-G of SIGA assures

On Tuesday, 3rd September, 2019, the Acting Director General of State Interests and Governance Authority [SIGA] Hon. Stephen Asamoah-Boateng held a last staff durbar with staff of now-defunct State Enterprises Commission [SEC] to finally windup activities of the latter and kick-start those of the former. He revealed that the staff of Divestiture Implementation Committee [DIC], which was also collapsed and joined with SEC to form SIGA, had also been directed to hold a similar durbar, concurrently.

The main object of the durbar was to take the staff through the core mandate of SIGA and how the new entity is going to operate in way that completely departs from SEC. the D-G also encourage the staff who will eventually be recruited into SIGA, to be mindful of the fact that, indeed, there is a “cut-off point where there is a complete breakaway from the old ways of doing things”. For this reason, the D-G further opined “anyone found not to be moving alongside the tune of the new entity will fall by the way side”.

The new entity has a lot of expectations, both internal and external: because SEC, somewhere along the line, could not deliver on its core mandate, the public, key stakeholders and the state which is the owner, will have every reason to be expectant of SIGA, while the staff who will be working for SIGA will be expected to give off their optimum”. “The strongest signal the new Authority can send out there is putting our best foot forward in tandem with public expectations” the acting D-G said.

In real life, people perform when only when they are inspected rather than expected and this is best exemplified by the days where we had sanitary inspectors who could go into people’s homes, unannounced, and check standard of hygienic practices. This level of vigilance which was indeed the core mandate of SEC, to some extent, was not carried through largely due to lack of personnel with requisite capacities, and this is what the new Authority, SIGA, has come to correct.

Hon. Asamoah-Boateng likened how the new Authority is going to be run, to a football team like “Manchester City which had no history of achievements but with the arrival of Pep Guardiola, with his strategic mind and well-focused objective, has succeeded in transforming the team into a formidable rival to an established Manchester United”.

The D-G, however, sounded a note of caution that “with the level of responsibilities on the shoulders of SIGA, there shall be hurdles” but encouraged the staff that “these are surmountable”. “SIGA will be supervising activities of SOEs, JVCs and Carried Interests which in total, form 51% of national assets and therefore success of SIGA, invariably, will reflect on the state which can bring about the realization of “Ghana Beyond Aid as envisaged by the President, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo”, the D-G said in conclusion.

 

Story by:
Justice Abeeku Newton-Offei
Communication Directorate
Office of the President

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