The Managing Director of State Insurance Company (SIC), James Agyenim-Boateng, has pushed back strongly against allegations of political interference in Ghana’s insurance sector, insisting that claims by IMANI Africa founder Franklin Cudjoe are “totally baseless and unfounded” but acknowledged the existence of correspondence from the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA) encouraging state entities to do business with SIC.
Speaking on Newsnight on JoyNews, Mr Agyenim-Boateng said he was unaware of any official political interference in the insurance space, and that SIC staff go out daily to prospect for business like any other insurer.
“I am unaware of SIC or any official of any so-called political interference in the insurance space. Every single day, when we come here at SIC, all of us go out to prospect for business just like any other insurance company does,” he said.
To back his claim, the SIC MD cited two examples he said demonstrated the company was not benefiting from political leverage.
He revealed that SIC’s share of Bank of Ghana’s insurance business had dropped from 100% to just 12% under the current Mahama administration.
He also said SIC was officially notified it would receive 50% of a business transaction at the Bulk Infrastructure and Power Authority (BIPA), only for that share to be revised down first to 10% and later to 15%.
“If I have political leverage and that is what I’m exploiting, why should SIC’s business in Bank of Ghana move from 100% to only 12%?” he asked.
But when confronted with SIGA’s letters, which are in the public domain, Mr Agyenim-Boateng shifted ground, acknowledging the communications exist while insisting they represent encouragement, not a directive.
He argued that SIGA is mandated by law to promote inter-trading among state entities, and that the letters were not exclusive to the insurance sector or to SIC’s benefit.
“There’s a difference between an encouragement from SIGA and a directive from SIGA,” he said, adding that even the SIGA correspondence itself made clear that state entities were not being asked to blindly channel business to SIC.
Mr Agyenim-Boateng also dismissed a petition by GLICO General Insurance to the Presidency, describing those allegations as having “no legs to stand on.”
His appearance on Newsnite followed IMANI Africa’s formal petition to President Mahama on Tuesday, in which Mr Cudjoe warned of a systematic takeover of state insurance portfolios by “unseen political hands” hiding behind administrative directives.
Industry icon Sir Sam Jonah had also described the situation as “deeply troubling and dangerously systemic.”
The government’s communications minister, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, had earlier indicated that the President would review the IMANI petition and take “appropriate action where required.”
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Source: www.myjoyonline.com