28 SOEs sign performance contracts

Samuel K. Obour Jul - 19 - 2013 , 02:15

Twenty-eight state-owned enterprises (SOEs) on Thursday, signed performance contracts with the government in Accra. They include the Volta River Authority (VRA), the Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo), the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD).

The contract enjoins the state institutions to meet certain targets and goals set out for their respective institutions in order to contribute to the effective development of the country.

A deputy minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr Ato Forson, signed on behalf of the Minister of Finance, Mr Seth Terkper, for the government, while the chief executive officers of the various companies and institutions signed for their respective enterprises.

In 2009, about 30 SOEs signed performance contracts. Out of the number, only six were able to meet the benchmark after monitoring and evaluation.

Since then, the government had been signing the performance contract with only the six SOEs.

In his remarks, Mr Forson said the contribution of SOEs could not be over-emphasised and cautioned that the boards and the management of the respective SOEs would be held responsible if they failed to meet the benchmark of their contracts.

He lauded the decision to incorporate maintenance and safety in the performance contract to promote productivity and called for fruitful collaboration between the SOEs and the government to achieve good results.

For his part, the Minister of State at the Presidency in charge of Public/Private Partnerships, Mr Rashid Pelpuo, hinted that there would be stringent monitoring and evaluation to ensure that the SOEs met the benchmark set up in the performance contract.