Mahama Orders Immediate Dissolution of Boards of Nine State Institutions

President John Dramani Mahama has directed the immediate dissolution of the governing boards of nine state-owned institutions, affecting organisations operating in some of Ghana’s key economic and public service sectors.

The directive, announced by the Presidency on Wednesday, September 2, takes effect immediately and sets the stage for the reorganisation of the boards responsible for providing oversight and strategic direction to the affected institutions.

The move covers institutions in the petroleum, mining, banking, aluminium, infrastructure, housing, postal and sports sectors.

The institutions whose boards have been dissolved are:

1. Prestea Sankofa Gold Limited
2. Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company Limited (BOST)
3. Volta Aluminium Company Limited (VALCO)
4. Consolidated Bank Ghana Limited (CBG)
5. Ghana Post Company Limited
6. Road Maintenance Trust Fund
7. TDC Ghana Limited
8. Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC)
9. National Sports Authority (NSA)

The Presidency’s announcement was signed by Felix Kwakye Ofosu, Spokesperson to the President and Minister for Government Communications.

Sector ministers given responsibility

Following the President’s directive, the ministers responsible for the various sectors have been instructed to take the necessary steps to implement the dissolution.

The process is expected to follow the relevant laws and the governing documents that regulate each institution.

Importantly, the announcement concerns the boards of the institutions and not the institutions themselves. The affected organisations are therefore not being shut down as a result of the directive.

The government says the affected boards will be reconstituted in due course.

This means new members are expected to be appointed to provide governance and oversight once the government completes the necessary processes.

As of the announcement, no names have been provided for the replacement board members, and no specific date has been given for the inauguration of the new

The development is significant because several of the institutions involved have major responsibilities within Ghana’s economy.

GNPC and BOST, for example, operate in the country’s petroleum sector, while VALCO is an important player in aluminium production.

The decision also affects CBG, a banking institution, as well as Prestea Sankofa Gold Limited, which operates in the mining sector.

In the infrastructure and public service space, the affected institutions include TDC Ghana Limited, the Road Maintenance Trust Fund and Ghana Post.

The National Sports Authority is also among the institutions whose board has been dissolved.

The Presidency did not provide detailed reasons for the dissolution of the individual boards in the announcement.

Instead, the statement focused on the immediate implementation of the directive and the eventual reconstitution of the affected boards.

The relevant ministries have therefore been tasked with ensuring that the transition is carried out in line with the legal and administrative requirements governing each institution.

The immediate next step will be for the government to begin the process of constituting new boards.

Until new governing boards are established, the affected institutions will continue to operate under their existing administrative and management arrangements, subject to the applicable laws and directives.

The major question now is who will be selected to serve on the new boards and what priorities the new governing teams will bring to the respective institutions.

For institutions such as GNPC, BOST, CBG and VALCO, the appointments could attract particular public interest because of their importance to Ghana’s economy.

The government is yet to announce the names of the incoming board members.

News Origins will continue to follow the development and bring you updates as further decisions and appointments are announced.