Vice President of IMANI Africa, Bright Simons, has challenged the State Interests and Governance Authority’s (SIGA) portrayal of the financial performance of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), arguing that the data do not support its claim of a “massive” turnaround.
Vice President of IMANI Africa, Bright Simons, has challenged the State Interests and Governance Authority’s (SIGA) portrayal of the financial performance of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), arguing that the data do not support its claim of a “massive” turnaround.
SIGA’s 2025 State Ownership Report indicated that SOEs recorded a combined net profit after tax of GH¢19.8 billion, a significant shift from the GH¢2.25 billion net loss recorded in 2024. The report also showed that total revenue increased from GH¢137.64 billion in 2024 to GH¢176.43 billion in 2025.
However, speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, September 5, Mr Simons said the headline figures fail to provide an accurate picture of the underlying performance of the entities.
He said SIGA’s presentation creates the impression of a sudden and unprecedented transformation after several years of losses.
“If you follow SIGA’s account, this is what happened. We were constantly making losses all the way back from 2017, and then miraculously, as a group, they made a profit of 19.8 billion.”
He pointed to several indicators which, in his assessment, undermine that narrative, including the number of profitable entities, cumulative losses, current ratios and dividend payments.
“The problem, as I have already pointed out to you, that even at a high level, this story that there’s been a massive turnaround, unprecedented, historic, is not borne out by the sheer data itself,” he said.
He noted that the number of entities making profits had actually declined, while dividends paid by the entities were also lower.
He further noted that only two entities—Ghana Reinsurance Company and TDC—paid dividends during the period under review, with overall dividends reportedly declining by about 45% compared with the previous year.
“You look at the SOEs, the other state entities, they’re actually making massive deficits, 10 billion Ghana, more than 10 billion Ghana cedis.”
He therefore questioned what SIGA sought to communicate by describing the overall results as a major turnaround.
“So what are you trying to convey when you say that there’s been a big turnaround? Your own numbers doesn’t even bear you out.”
Mr Simons said while SIGA had highlighted increases in revenue and profit before interest and tax, the focus should instead be on the operating performance of individual state-owned enterprises.
He explained that operating performance should reflect the activities directly controlled by the management and boards of the respective entities.
“The operating line basically is what really is driven by the entity’s operations, the actual thing they do, their core business.”
According to him, SIGA risks misleading the public by including gains and other factors that are not directly attributable to the operational performance of the entities.
“Much of our fight with SIGA is that it misleads on the operating results, what we can actually attribute to the SOEs’ performance, by confusing us with other things, which are not operating line but are below the operating line.”
Mr Simons cited foreign exchange movements and improvements in financing conditions as examples of factors that could improve an entity’s reported financial position without necessarily reflecting better management or operational performance.
He argued that an improvement in the broader economy should not automatically be presented as an improvement resulting from the performance of individual SOEs.
“The problem is that we are not measuring general economic environment; we’re measuring SOE performance.”
“General improvement in the economy is not something you can attribute to Cocoa Board or GNPC. They are not responsible.”
He said the key question should be whether entities such as the Ghana Cocoa Board, Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, Consolidated Bank Ghana and GCB Bank are performing better within their respective mandates.
SIGA, however, has maintained that the 2025 figures demonstrate a substantial improvement in the financial performance of Ghana’s state-owned enterprises. Its report covered 162 specified entities, comprising 53 SOEs, 36 joint venture companies and 73 other state entities.
The 2025 State Ownership Report was published by SIGA on August 28, 2026, as part of its annual assessment of the financial and operational performance of entities in which the state has an interest.
For Mr Simons, however, the debate should go beyond the headline GH¢19.8 billion profit and examine what actually drove the reported improvement—and whether those gains can be attributed to better management and operational performance by the state-owned enterprises.
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