Ghana’s State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) are on track to deliver dividends significantly above projections for 2025, marking a potential shift in performance for entities long criticized for persistent losses and fiscal drains on the national treasury.
According to data from the 2026 Budget Statement analyzed by The High Street Journal, government collected GH¢1.35 billion in SOE dividends by the end of September 2025, already exceeding the full year target of GH¢932 million by forty six percent. With three months remaining in the fiscal year, projections indicate total dividend collections could reach GH¢1.47 billion, representing one hundred fifty eight percent of the original budget.
The performance marks a dramatic departure from historical patterns where state enterprises required repeated government bailouts and contributed minimally to national revenues. For decades, most SOEs operated at losses while accumulating substantial debts that ultimately fell on taxpayers.
Government attributes the turnaround to its Reset Agenda, which emphasizes fiscal discipline and accountability across state institutions. President John Dramani Mahama warned early in his administration that SOEs must achieve efficiency and profitability or face consequences, signaling a departure from tolerating chronic underperformance.
The improved dividend performance provides government with additional fiscal flexibility at a time when revenue mobilization remains critical for financing infrastructure, education and healthcare without excessive borrowing. When state companies generate profits rather than losses, those funds flow into the Consolidated Fund for public services instead of adding to national debt.
Government projects that dividends and other non tax revenues will continue growing, potentially reaching over GH¢31 billion by 2029 according to medium term fiscal frameworks. However, observers question whether the 2025 performance represents a sustainable transformation or reflects temporary factors.
Historical data paints a sobering context for the current optimism. Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson revealed in August 2025 that only three SOEs paid dividends in 2024, contributing just GH¢28.7 million collectively. The 2024 State Ownership Report showed SOEs recorded a deepened net loss of GH¢9.67 billion compared with GH¢7.14 billion in 2023, despite revenue growth.
The electricity sector alone faces massive shortfalls, with accumulated debts requiring substantial government support. Entities like the Electricity Company of Ghana and COCOBOD have historically generated losses that undermine fiscal stability, according to policy analysts.
Critics including economic policy organizations have consistently called for comprehensive SOE reforms with clear restructuring plans, timelines and conditionality for continued fiscal support. They argue that without addressing fundamental governance weaknesses, improved performance may prove fleeting.
The question facing policymakers and citizens is whether recent gains reflect permanent cultural and operational changes within state enterprises, or whether they result from one time factors that may not persist beyond 2025. Government insists the Reset Agenda prioritizes sustained transformation of SOEs from perennial loss makers into productive contributors to national development.
Transparency advocates emphasize the importance of publishing detailed SOE performance data, including which specific entities contributed to the dividend windfall and what operational improvements drove profitability. Such disclosure would help distinguish between genuine reform success and accounting adjustments or asset sales that generate temporary revenue without improving underlying operations.
As Ghana seeks to maintain macroeconomic stability under its International Monetary Fund supported programme, consistent SOE profitability could significantly ease fiscal pressures and reduce borrowing requirements. The coming years will reveal whether 2025 marks the beginning of a new era for state enterprises or merely an outlier in a long history of disappointing performance.