Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare, popularly known as Kwaku Azar, has called for major changes to the way Ghana appoints directors and chief executives of state-owned enterprises.
He wants serving ministers, Members of Parliament and national party executives kept from chairing strategic SOEs.
Kwaku Azar said Ghana should publish clear competency requirements for every SOE board position and use merit rather than political loyalty as the basis for appointments.
“Political loyalty may qualify a person for party office. It should not substitute for independence and competence in the boardroom,” he said.
He also wants SOE boards to have a meaningful role in selecting chief executive officers.
According to him, qualified directors should not automatically lose their positions whenever political power changes hands.
He said the current system has contributed to weak independence and poor performance among some state-owned enterprises.
Kwaku Azar said the IMF’s recommendations should therefore be used to address the problem instead of becoming another political argument between the NDC and NPP.
He said Ghana should learn from countries where state-owned enterprises are treated as public assets rather than party property.
He specifically pointed to the need for structured, skills-based appointments to SOE boards.
“The solution is not to replace one party’s appointees with another party’s appointees,” he said.
Kwaku Azar said Ghana needed a system that protected professional boards from partisan interference while making them accountable for the performance of state-owned enterprises.
He said the IMF report had provided an opportunity for Ghana to make those changes.
