President John Dramani Mahama announced in New York on Friday, September 25, 2026, that 10 state-owned enterprises have been prepared for listing on the Ghana Stock Exchange to curb political interference, enforce accountability, and improve governance as foreign direct investment rose to $2.6 billion by the end of 2025.
President John Dramani Mahama has unveiled a structural overhaul targeting Ghana’s state-run entities, moving to list 10 major state-owned enterprises (SOEs) on the Ghana Stock Exchange. The announcement came during a side event titled A Conversation with President John Dramani Mahama
in New York on Friday, September 25, 2026. According to the administration, transforming these entities into public companies will improve governance, profitability and attract investment while shutting out partisan interference.
The push to open up state assets follows years of heavy fiscal strain. An International Monetary Fund 2024 Technical Assistance Report flagged politicised board and CEO appointments as a core weakness across major institutions, noting that aggregate SOE liabilities reached approximately GH¢282 billion in 2024, or roughly 25% of the country’s gross domestic product. Major enterprises including the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority and the Volta River Authority were cited for boards heavily dominated by active politicians and party officials, a structure the IMF warned departs substantially from standard OECD guidelines.
Tying Executive Pay and Board Terms to Sourced Performance
Speaking at the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA) Governing Board and CEOs Conference in Accra, President Mahama drew a hard line against entitlement and persistent operational losses in the public sector. Executive compensation, board terms, and central government support will now rest strictly on verified financial returns and public service delivery.
There’s this notion of state enterprises where people just go and they’re guaranteed a monthly salary whether they perform well or not.
President John Dramani Mahama, via Graphic
Under the new enforcement rules outlined at the State Interests and Governance Authority conference, institutions that fail to submit audited financial reports or miss Annual General Meetings will face rapid administrative penalties. Furthermore, salary increases and bonuses are stopped for executives at state institutions that do not meet performance targets, and profitable entities have been instructed to direct their capital toward paying state dividends rather than funding internal executive perks.
Financial Turnaround and the Push for Public Accountability
The administrative crackdown arrives alongside a sharp reported recovery in the balance sheets of state entities under regulatory oversight. Rigorous structural enforcement was credited by Professor Michael Kpessa-Whyte, SIGA Director General, for a dramatic financial rebound as total enterprise results shifted from a GHS 2.26 billion net loss to a net profit of GHS 19.8 billion.
President Mahama noted that political shifts in Ghana’s democratic cycle have historically triggered sweeping dismissals of chief executive officers and board dissolutions, disrupting institutional continuity. Transitioning the 10 selected enterprises to public listings is designed to make such political interference difficult while giving ordinary citizens a direct stake in corporate performance. To signal seriousness ahead of the Accra conference, the administration dissolved the boards of nine state institutions that failed to meet key performance metrics.
Reliable Power Supply Fuels Foreign Direct Investment Growth
Tying the governance reforms to wider macroeconomic metrics, President Mahama emphasized that Ghana's investment climate remains strong due to dependable national infrastructure. Stable power access has allowed the country to maintain more than 90 per cent electricity coverage, with solar and off-grid solutions deployed to reach remote areas where grid extensions remain impractical.
Official data presented in New York indicates that this consistent energy supply was a critical factor in lifting foreign direct investment from $640 million during the 2024 crisis period up to $2.6 billion by the close of 2025. With the Ghana Stock Exchange standing out as a top-performing African exchange supported by rapid Initial Public Offerings, the upcoming listings represent an effort to translate macro gains into permanent institutional discipline.