State-owned Enterprises plundered by looting brigades – Kwasi Pratt Jnr

Ghanaian journalist and managing editor of the Insight Newspaper, Mr. Kwasi Pratt Jnr, has publicly criticized the management of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), alleging that SOEs are left in the hands of looting brigades and have caused the Enterprises to run at a loss.

He stated that scandalous leaders manage SOEs and they end up running them at a loss.  “If you set up state enterprises and hand them over to looting brigades, what do you expect”.

 According to Mr. Pratt, this mismanagement has led to significant financial losses for these enterprises. He emphasized that SOEs were originally established to generate profits for the country but have been manipulated for personal gain by individuals who prioritize their wealth over the nation’s interests, ultimately causing the companies to collapse.

Mr. Pratt further claimed that after deliberately running these enterprises into the ground, these individuals then engage in corrupt practices by selling off the devalued SOEs to themselves. He therefore called on the president to investigate these alleged fraudulent activities, suggesting that if the president is not benefiting directly from these actions, he should take immediate action to address them.

Watch Kwasi Pratt Jnr’s video below;

These comments were made during a public lecture organized by the United Voices for Change at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology on March 7, 2024. The lecture featured prominent figures such as Professor Gartchie Gatsi, the Dean of the Business School at UCC, Dr. Amakye Boateng, a Senior Lecturer at KNUST, Mr. Kwasi Pratt Jnr, and Professor Iddrisu Aziz-Abdul.

Speaking to the theme “Governance and performance of state-owned enterprises and its rippling effects on the economy”, Dr. Amakye Boateng provided a historical overview of state-owned enterprises, noting that while the governance structure of SOEs has not significantly impacted their performance, incompetence has been a major factor leading to their poor performance. He highlighted that SOEs have been running at a loss, not necessarily due to governance issues, but due to incompetence in management.

Similarly, Professor Gartchie Gatsi emphasized that SOEs are profit-oriented entities and should be making profits. He raised concerns over the leadership of these enterprises, suggesting that those in key positions are more loyal to their appointing authorities than to the development of the companies, leading them to deliberately run SOEs at a loss.

According to myjoyonline report on October 13, 2023, SOEs have recorded a 35% reduction in losses from ¢2.6 billion in 2020 to ¢1.7 billion in 2021. Meanwhile, SOEs are profit-oriented entities and should be making a profit, as indicated by Professor Gartchie Gatsi.

The United Voices for Change is therefore committed to promoting efficiency, transparency, good governance, and accountability and urged the government to look into the deliberate attempts by CEOs and boards to run down SOEs. United Voices for Change aims to address poor performance among the leadership of SOEs and ensure they act appropriately.

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