Mahama to SOE Bosses: Submit Audited Accounts or Be Fired

President John Dramani Mahama has warned heads of state-owned enterprises that they will be sacked if they fail to submit audited accounts and annual reports by the SIGA deadline.

Speaking at a diaspora town hall meeting on Sunday, May 31, Mahama said the government is tightening oversight of SOEs to boost accountability and improve economic management.

He described it as unacceptable that some state institutions have gone for years without filing audited accounts or annual reports. Mahama said losses from poorly run SOEs end up as state liabilities, straining public finances and hurting economic stability efforts.

To fix this, government has now made timely submission of audited accounts and annual reports a key performance indicator for SOE chief executives. Compliance is no longer optional.

“We found out that some state-owned enterprises had not presented annual reports or audited accounts for seven years. I mean, who runs an organisation like that for seven years without audited accounts and annual reports?” Mahama said.

He disclosed that SIGA has set a deadline for mid-year. “If you have not presented your audited accounts and you have not presented your annual report, the road is your face, you go home,” he warned the CEOs.

Despite the tough stance, the President said he is optimistic about the performance of several SOEs. He noted that many are showing improvement after increased monitoring and reforms introduced by his administration.