Vice-President of IMANI-AFRICA, Kofi Bentil has disagreed with the Minister for Public Enterprises on his claim that Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) cannot be blamed entirely for losses recorded.
Joseph Cudjoe at a press briefing on Wednesday emphasised that CEOs of SOEs cannot be entirely blamed for losses recorded since they do not, in some cases, set prices or tariffs for services rendered.
The Minister cited the Electricity Company of Ghana and the Ghana Water Company to justify his assertion.
But Mr. Bentil believes the Minister is wrong to have made such an analysis since the government is responsible for the appointment of persons who set and control the prices of some state-owned enterprises.
He explained that although some CEOs do not set prices and tariffs in some state-owned enterprises, as heads of these institutions they are mandated to properly set out the targets of the institutions.
“I think he [Joseph Cudjoe] is applying the wrong paradigm and we need to get things clear. In the first place, who sets the prices? In this paradigm, it is the same government that appoints people who set the prices, the same government that appoints these people is the same government that controls every lever by which these prices are set.
“We elect them and put them in office to make sure that these various things are put in place and properly set out,” he told Evans Mensah on Top Story.
According to him, if the Minister is making such justification for CEOs of SOEs then they are not deserving of salaries being paid to them since the appointing authority is rather making decisions instead of the CEOs.
“Let us also be clear about this. If you have a situation where the appointing authority, in this case, the President and the people in power are going to be micromanaging or making decisions at a higher level which makes it almost impossible for you to perform where you are, then the simple principle that is known to everybody, where you are not the one making the decisions and outcomes cannot be attributed to you, you should not be earning salaries as if you are the one making the difference,” he noted.
Mr.Bentil further said if state-owned enterprises' CEOs are micromanaged by appointing authorities, then government has no business employing such people to avoid wasting state resources.
"What the Minister is explaining to us is that we are hiring all these high-priced people and paying them top dollar. Meanwhile, we don't expect them to do anything different, we don't expect them to add any value because indeed there is nothing they can do because they are micro-managed from somewhere.
"If that is the case, then let us hire simple civil servants and simple public servants on ordinary payroll to run all these entities because in any case, they will be run from another place anyway," he said.
Latest Stories
-
East Legon crash: Police pursue TikTokers for ‘false claims’ about Salifu Amoako’s son’s location
17 mins -
Severe food shortage force some SHSs to serve repetitive meals
26 mins -
Don Julio 1942 launched by Guinness Ghana Breweries with an enchanting Halloween Ball celebration
28 mins -
3 Central Region MCEs intensify cholera control efforts after 5 deaths
34 mins -
Bawumia’s 12 ‘Bold Steps’ to expand educational opportunities for all
36 mins -
Mahama criticises NPP for accumulating energy debt to pass on to next NDC gov’t
36 mins -
Agromonti empowers Techiman farmers with sustainable agriculture training in CSR event
42 mins -
Ghanaians deserve certificates for enduring hardship under NPP – Mahama
42 mins -
AG’s office needs 1,500 public attorneys for proper discharge of functions – Godfred Dame
43 mins -
Court sentences man to life imprisonment for murdering girlfriend; daughter
58 mins -
Bawumia’s $80 bn value claim for Spotify, false – Dubawa
1 hour -
GBA President calls for transparent and fair December election
1 hour -
November 8 not a public holiday – Interior Ministry
1 hour -
Policies the Church can promote to ensure every birth by a congregant is wanted, not unintended
1 hour -
Next NPP government to build new AG offices in all regions – Godfred Dame
2 hours