The President said this when he addressed Chief Executives and board chairmen of SoEs at their retreat in Mankessim in the Central Region over the weekend.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has cautioned Chief Executives and board chairmen of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) that he will not hesitate to dismiss any of them if they commit any infraction in the discharge of their duties.
“I want to reiterate to you all that I’m not ready to shield anyone who commits any infraction in the discharge of his or her duty. I will not protect anyone and I will not hesitate to sack the person once the process finds him or her culpable,” he warned.
Giving a brief on the retreat, the Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, said the President called on the appointees to be guided by the State Interest and Governance Authority (SIGA) Act and ensure that they did not in any way circumvent the law to avoid dragging the name of the government into any controversy.
He added that the Nana Akufo-Addo said the SIGA Act had strengthened the laws and his personal resolve to deal with the issue of corruption.
The minister also indicated that the President reiterated the warning that appointees who committed any infraction would be made to face the law and if they flouted the rules and regulations of corporate governance, they would be sacked outright to send the strongest signal about his resolve not to shield any of his appointees found culpable.
Speaking on behalf of his colleague CEOs, the Director-General of SIGA, Stephen Asamoah-Boateng, said they will do well to comply with the law.
Background
Parliament passed the SIGA Bill into an act on May 29, 2019, and it received Presidential Assent a week later.
The authority oversees and administers the state’s interests in SoEs, joint venture companies and other entities in which the state has an interest.
The act (Act 990) now empowers the body to prosecute board members and corporate executives who break or sidestep corporate governance regulations.
Those who violate the law could face a jail term of not less than five years and up to 10 years.