Former Minister of State Enterprises, Hon. Joseph Cudjoe, has questioned the rationale behind President John Mahama’s decision to dissolve the Boards of nine state-owned enterprises, arguing that the move could have implications beyond routine corporate governance.
The affected institutions include the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company Limited (BOST), Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO), Consolidated Bank Ghana (CBG), Ghana Post, Tema Development Company (TDC), Prestea Sankofa Gold, Road Fund, Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), and the National Sports Authority.
In a commentary on the development, Mr. Cudjoe said the recently published 2025 State Ownership Report does not portray all nine institutions as financially underperforming.
He pointed out that several of the affected state-owned enterprises recorded profits in 2025, citing TDC’s reported profit of about GH¢195.6 million, BOST’s approximately GH¢684 million, and GNPC’s GH¢4.5 billion profit.
According to him, Prestea Sankofa Gold and CBG also remained profitable, while the National Sports Authority recorded a surplus.
Mr. Cudjoe therefore questioned whether financial performance alone could justify the wholesale dissolution of the Boards.
He has particularly drawn attention to TDC, VALCO and Prestea Sankofa Gold, suggesting that developments surrounding the three institutions warrant closer public scrutiny.
He noted that TDC has been consistently profitable and has significant landholding and development interests in the Tema area, including land associated with VALCO.
On VALCO, the former minister said the company has become the subject of debate over the possibility of bringing in a strategic investor and potentially transferring a substantial equity stake.
He also pointed to controversies surrounding the management and local ownership interests of Prestea Sankofa Gold.
Mr. Cudjoe, however, acknowledged that there is currently no evidence proving that President Mahama dissolved the Boards specifically to facilitate the sale, transfer or acquisition of the state assets.
He stressed that making such a claim without evidence would amount to an allegation rather than a fact.
Nevertheless, he argued that the circumstances surrounding the dissolution justify heightened public scrutiny, particularly where profitable state-owned enterprises are included in the same exercise as institutions facing performance challenges.
The former minister also raised concerns about what he described as a wider context involving President Mahama’s brother, Ibrahim Mahama, whom he said appears to be expanding his interests in Ghana’s extractive sector.
He referenced developments involving Exton Cubic, the Black Volta/Black Volta Gold project, and the Damang Gold Mine, arguing that these developments provide a backdrop against which the public may reasonably ask questions about the future ownership and control of strategic state assets.
Mr. Cudjoe said the ultimate test of the President’s decision would not simply be the identities of the individuals appointed to the new Boards.
Rather, he said, attention must be focused on what happens subsequently to the assets, ownership structures and strategic control of the affected companies, particularly those that were profitable before their Boards were dissolved.
He is therefore calling for transparency and accountability as the government moves to reconstitute the Boards, insisting that Ghanaians have a legitimate interest in understanding the broader implications of the decisions.
For now, the suggestion of a planned transfer or “capture” of these state assets remains an opinion and not a fact. The key issue, as raised by Mr. Cudjoe, is whether subsequent decisions on ownership, investment and control will validate or dispel the concerns being raised.
