By Issah Olegor
Aspiring Communications Director of the opposition New Patriotic Party, Dennis Miracles Aboagye has accused the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government of creating a public-relations problem for itself by overstating the performance of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in 2025 and presenting the reported figures as evidence of an unprecedented turnaround.
According to Aboagye, the controversy surrounding the latest State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA) report is not primarily about the credibility of SIGA’s figures, but about how the government chose to communicate and interpret the results.
He argues that the government attempted to portray the performance of state-owned enterprises as a historic achievement when, in his assessment, the figures at best demonstrate a respectable improvement rather than the “miracle” performance presented to the Ghanaian public.
His comments come amid an increasingly heated public debate over the financial performance of state-owned enterprises and the factors responsible for the reported gains.
Aboagye said the underlying problem confronting Ghana’s SOEs is not new. Successive governments, he noted, have struggled with the performance of state-owned institutions and have repeatedly introduced measures intended to make them more efficient, productive and profitable.
Against that background, he said, the public naturally expects state-owned enterprises to generate stronger results, create employment, increase production and reduce their dependence on government support.
35 profitable SOEs in 2024, 34 in 2025
Miracles Aboagye pointed to the number of state-owned enterprises that reportedly recorded profits as one of the reasons he believes the “historic turnaround” narrative is difficult to sustain.
According to him, 35 state-owned enterprises recorded profits in 2024, while 34 recorded profits in 2025.
He said although the public has every right to demand improved performance from state institutions, describing 34 profitable SOEs as a historic achievement becomes questionable when the preceding year produced a slightly higher number.
He maintained that the public backlash against SOE performance in previous years was itself evidence that Ghanaians expect much more from government-owned institutions.
For him, profitability should be accompanied by measurable improvements in productivity, operational efficiency, employment and output before it can reasonably be described as a dramatic turnaround.
The GH¢19.8bn question
At the centre of Aboagye’s criticism is the reported GH¢19.8 billion headline profit attributed to the state-owned enterprise sector.
He argues that the headline figure risks creating the impression that the entire amount was generated through improved commercial operations by SOEs.
According to his analysis, however, a substantial portion of the figure came from items that he believes should be separated from ordinary trading performance if the objective is to determine whether the enterprises themselves have undergone a genuine operational transformation.
He identified three major components that, in his view, account for roughly 84 per cent of the GH¢19.8 billion figure.
The first is approximately GH¢6.5 billion in fund surpluses, involving institutions including GETFund, MIIF and GDPC. He described these as levy funds collected but not yet spent.
The second is about GH¢5.6 billion in foreign exchange gains resulting from the appreciation of the Ghana cedi, which he characterised as non-cash gains.
The third is approximately GH¢4.55 billion attributed to GoldBod’s government subvention, which was recognised as a grant and remained unutilised at the end of the year.
Taken together, Aboagye said, these components amount to approximately GH¢16.6 billion, leaving roughly GH¢3 billion from actual trading activity across the 53 companies.
He therefore argues that the approximately GH¢3 billion remaining after those items are separated is respectable but does not, in his view, justify describing the performance as historic.
Forex gains become a major battleground
The role of foreign exchange gains has emerged as one of the most contentious aspects of the debate.
Aboagye acknowledges that the appreciation of the cedi can legitimately influence the financial performance of companies, but he rejects the suggestion that recording forex gains by itself demonstrates exceptional operational performance by state-owned enterprises.
His argument is that if macroeconomic stability contributed to better SOE results, the government must demonstrate the direct operational consequences.
That would include evidence of increased production, improved efficiency, additional employment, higher revenues and stronger underlying commercial performance, he said.
In his view, merely recording gains arising from currency movements does not establish that managers of state-owned enterprises have fundamentally transformed the institutions.
He therefore believes the more important question is how the improved macroeconomic environment translated into tangible improvements in the actual operations of the enterprises.
‘This is where the spin began’
Aboagye contends that the controversy could have been avoided if the government had presented the figures with greater context instead of attempting to sell them as an extraordinary achievement.
He said SIGA’s reports have historically been scrutinised and criticised, particularly over the performance of the state-owned entities it assesses.
However, he argues that the intensity of the current debate is linked to what he considers an attempt by government communicators to give the 2025 results a particularly triumphant interpretation.
He said the government’s decision to highlight the GH¢19.8 billion figure as evidence of a remarkable SOE turnaround created expectations that the underlying numbers could not sustain.
According to him, the resulting backlash was therefore a communication failure created by the government’s own attempt to “spin” the figures.
A wider debate over SOE performance
The disagreement also touches on a longstanding problem in Ghana’s public-sector management: how to measure the success of state-owned enterprises.
For years, SOEs have faced criticism over financial losses, accumulated liabilities, operational inefficiencies, governance challenges and dependence on government intervention.
Governments have consequently sought various strategies to improve their performance, with SIGA playing a central role in monitoring and reporting on state interests and governance.
Aboagye believes that genuine reform should ultimately be reflected in the core activities of the enterprises rather than primarily in accounting gains or favourable economic conditions.
He argues that a genuine turnaround would be demonstrated when companies produce more, employ more people, generate stronger sustainable revenues and profits, and require less financial support from the state.
‘You caused your PR mess’
Aboagye’s criticism extends beyond the technical interpretation of the figures to the government’s broader communication strategy.
He accused the NDC of becoming entangled in what he described as a “false miracle” narrative and subsequently reacting angrily when critics questioned the basis of the claim.
He argued that the government should have presented the results honestly, acknowledging the role played by foreign exchange movements, grants, fund surpluses and other factors rather than allowing the headline figure to dominate the public conversation.
In his view, the controversy could have been avoided through a more measured presentation of the data.
He has consequently called on government communicators to reduce what he considers excessive political spin and focus more directly on the underlying facts.
Aboagye also suggested that the government’s presentation of the SOE figures contributed to wider political commentary surrounding the economy and public-sector performance.
He argued that when government communications overstate achievements, they expose the administration to greater scrutiny and make subsequent attempts to explain the figures appear defensive.
‘This is 2026’
For Aboagye, the controversy ultimately presents a lesson for government communication in an increasingly information-driven environment.
He maintains that Ghanaians are capable of examining the components behind headline figures and distinguishing between genuine operational gains and accounting or macroeconomic effects.
His conclusion is that the government should focus on demonstrating measurable improvements in the real economy rather than relying on large headline numbers.
He argues that if state-owned enterprises genuinely improve their production, employment, efficiency and sustainable profitability as a result of better economic management, that achievement can then be defended as a genuine turnaround.
