By: Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
The Director-General (D-G) of the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA), Prof. Michael Kpessa-Whyte, has warned Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of loss-making State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) to stop paying end-of-year bonuses
According to the D-G of SIGA, paying bonuses while recording losses is a breach of financial directives.
Speaking on the sidelines of the 2026 SIGA Stakeholders’ Conference in Accra on Thursday, March 19, 2026, Prof. Kpessa-Whyte opined that it is unacceptable for organisations that fail to make profits to reward themselves with bonuses, warning that such actions amount to a violation of established directives.
He explained that the Authority closely monitors the financial activities of SOEs, thus making it difficult for such irregularities to go undetected.
The SIGA boss noted that his outfit closely tracks both revenue and expenditure lines of SOEs, and can detect such irregularities, and argued that institutions cannot justify paying bonuses when they are operating at a loss.
“If an SOE is unable to declare profits at the end of the financial year but records bonus payments, it indicates a clear disregard for the rules governing their operations,” Prof. Kpessa-Whyte stressed.
According to him, the practice is inconsistent with basic business principles, noting that no private business would reward itself with bonuses while making losses.
“We expect that all financial transactions are recorded in the accounting practices of the state-owned enterprises. We know where all monies go by way of expenditure. We know their revenue lines, we know their expenditure lines. You can’t make losses and pay bonuses.
If at the end of the year… you are unable to declare profits, and we see a line that shows that you have paid bonuses to yourselves…then it means that you have flouted a directive.
You are doing business. You are not making any profits; in fact, you are making losses, and then you are paying yourself bonuses. Nobody would do that in a private business,” he added.
The SIGA boss emphasised that bonuses should be strictly tied to performance and not treated as an automatic entitlement, adding that institutions must demonstrate strong financial results before rewarding themselves.
“Bonuses traditionally are rewards for good work done. If your books are showing that you have not done very well, then it is just honourable for you yourself to know that you can’t pay bonuses,” he added.
The SIGA Director-General clarified that the Authority is not opposed to bonus payments, but insists they must be based on performance benchmarks outlined in contracts signed with SOEs.
He warned that only institutions that meet or exceed agreed targets are permitted to pay bonuses, while those that fall short are not entitled to such benefits. He said the Authority will ensure stricter enforcement of these measures to strengthen SIGA’s oversight role in protecting the public purse.
More stories here
Source:
www.gbcghanaonline.com