Majority Chief Whip and South Dayi MP, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, has accused the International Monetary Fund (IMF) of showing an anti-NDC bias in its latest assessment of governance in Ghana’s state-owned enterprises (SOEs).
His comments follow an IMF Technical Assistance Report which identified the politicisation of SOE board and chief executive appointments as a major weakness in Ghana’s governance system.
The IMF said that although Ghana had established a framework intended to make appointments more merit-based, “in practice appointments remain highly political and centralised in the Presidency.”
It also said boards of major SOEs were largely dominated by political appointees, with board chairs frequently being ministers, MPs or prominent party officials.
Dafeamekpor challenges IMF
Reacting on X, Mr Dafeamekpor questioned what he described as selective criticism of NDC governments, arguing that similar practices existed under previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administrations.
He cited the appointment of former NPP National Chairman Peter Mac Manu as Board Chairman of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) and former NPP Minister Hackman Owusu-Agyemang as Board Chairman of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) under the Akufo-Addo administration.
“So what exactly do these IMF Country Directors want from the NDC anytime we are in Govt?” he asked.
He said he could provide a list of NPP senior figures and MPs who served on SOE boards between 2017 and 2024, as well as during the 2001–2008 period.
Mr Dafeamekpor further accused the IMF of abandoning neutrality in Ghana’s political debate, linking his criticism to an earlier IMF report on Ghana’s gold-related operations.
IMF recommendations
The IMF has recommended that Ghana strengthen merit-based and transparent procedures for appointing SOE boards and executives.
It also called for a gradual reduction in the number of active politicians and senior government officials serving on SOE boards, particularly those of strategically important enterprises.
The Fund said greater board independence would strengthen oversight, accountability and the financial sustainability of state-owned enterprises.
