Present your audited accounts, or go home – Mahama warns Heads of State-owned enterprises

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President John Mahama

President John Dramani Mahama has warned Chief Executive Officers of state-owned enterprises (SOE) that they risk losing their jobs if they fail to submit audited accounts and annual reports.

According to John Mahama, Chief Executive Officers of state-owned enterprises who fail to submit audited accounts and annual reports by the deadline set by the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA) will be sacked.

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He disclosed that his government is strengthening oversight of state-owned enterprises as part of broader efforts to improve accountability and management.

President asserted that several state institutions had operated for years without presenting audited accounts or annual reports, adding that the practice is unacceptable.

 Speaking at a diaspora town hall meeting in the UK on Sunday, May 31, President Mahama, stated, “We found out that some state-owned enterprises had not presented annual reports or audited accounts for seven years. I mean, who runs an organisation like that for seven years without audited accounts and annual reports?

“So we have made the submission of audited accounts and annual reports part of their key performance indicators. I’ve told the CEOs that SIGA has set a deadline, I think by the middle of this year. If you have not presented your audited accounts and you have not presented your annual report, the road is your face; you go home,” he said.

Also, President John Dramani  Mahama at the townhall meeting sent a message to public officials who have been implicated in financial irregularities captured in the Auditor-General’s reports.

Mahama told audit offenders to either refund the stolen money or they will be sent to Nsawam prison for misappropriation of funds.

According to President Mahama, he is concern of the recurring financial losses highlighted in annual audit reports.

He described the recurring financial losses as a significant burden on the national economy, adding that constant audit findings point to deep-rooted weaknesses in public financial management and accountability.

John Mahama stated, “Every year, you hear the Auditor General’s report; Ghana loses 12 billion cedis from misappropriations and things. The Chief Justice has graciously set up audit courts,” he disclosed.

“The Attorney General and the Auditor General are going to take out all the people who have misappropriated, and we’re putting them in front of those special courts to either refund our money or proceed to NSAWAM and go and catch some rest there,” he noted.

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