Ghana can no longer afford a leadership culture in which chief executives enjoy the comfort, prestige and privileges of public office while the institutions entrusted to them continue to struggle without clear evidence of improvement.
This is the uncomfortable question I raised during Game TV’s Morning Show, on the Big Question segment ……
My argument followed discussions surrounding Ghana Gas and its reported financial performance, which have reignited an important national conversation about accountability, managerial competence and the responsibilities of chief executives of state-owned enterprises.
According to the CEO , Miss Blay , Ghana Gas’ 2025 financial performance, the company recorded a 97% increase in net profit, alongside improvements in gas processing and LPG production.
The question is simple: if one state-owned commercial enterprise can significantly improve its financial performance, what excuses can the leadership of other struggling commercial state enterprises offer?
More importantly, how long must Ghanaians tolerate underperformance from people appointed to manage institutions that belong to the state?
THE ERA OF EXCUSES MUST END
For years, Ghanaians have watched public institutions struggle with financial difficulties, operational inefficiencies and disappointing results. Yet the public is not always given convincing explanations of what management is doing to reverse the situation.
When these institutions struggle, the explanations often follow familiar patterns: inadequate funding, economic difficulties, inherited debts, political interference and operational challenges.
Some of these explanations may be legitimate. But they must never become permanent hiding places for ineffective leadership.
What exactly is the job of a chief executive if the institution under their leadership cannot demonstrate meaningful progress?
A CEO is not appointed merely to occupy an office, sign documents, attend meetings and issue statements. The position comes with a responsibility to manage resources, improve efficiency, achieve agreed targets and deliver results.
Where an institution operates commercially, financial sustainability must be a central performance measure. Where it does not, management must still demonstrate measurable improvements in service delivery, efficiency and public value.
Ghana must stop treating leadership appointments as ceremonial rewards. These are positions of responsibility, and responsibility must come with accountability.
GHANA GAS HAS RAISED THE BAR
The reported performance of Ghana Gas presents an opportunity to examine what effective management can achieve.
The company’s reported 97% increase in net profit is significant, particularly when considered alongside its operational improvements. While this does not mean every state-owned enterprise should achieve the same percentage of profit growth, it gives us a legitimate reason to ask difficult questions about management performance across government-owned commercial institutions.
What cost-control measures are other CEOs implementing?
What strategies are they using to improve revenue?
How are they reducing waste, strengthening operational efficiency and protecting public assets?
What targets were they given when they assumed office, and how much progress have they made?
These are not unreasonable questions. They are the minimum questions any responsible shareholder, board or government should ask.
If Ghana Gas can improve its financial performance, other commercial state enterprises must be prepared to explain their own results against realistic, sector-specific targets.
The public deserves more than announcements about new appointments. It deserves evidence that those appointments are producing value.
WHY SHOULD AN UNDERPERFORMING CEO REMAIN IN OFFICE?
This is where my argument becomes particularly uncomfortable for those occupying executive positions in government institutions.
In the private sector, investors expect management to protect capital, grow revenue and maintain financial sustainability. Persistent underperformance can lead to a review of leadership and, ultimately, dismissal.
Why should a different standard apply to state-owned commercial enterprises?
Public institutions are financed with public resources, directly or indirectly. Their assets belong to the state, and their performance affects employment, government revenue and the wider economy.
When a commercial state enterprise consistently loses money, fails to meet its targets or requires repeated financial support without a credible recovery plan, the public has every right to demand accountability.
The CEO must answer.
The board must answer.
The appointing authority must answer.
And where an independent assessment establishes that persistent failure is attributable to poor management, the responsible authorities must be prepared to act in accordance with the applicable rules and procedures.
Keeping an underperforming CEO in office indefinitely is not stability. It can become an expensive endorsement of failure…
The era of occupying office without delivering results must end.
Nana Kwame Gyan…..
