President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is reported to have chastised the heads of state-owned institutions whose agencies are non-performing.

According to a report by The Chronicle newspaper, the president said that he and his ministerial appointees are always blamed for the bad performance of the economy while heads of state entities, who are also responsible, are overlooked.

Akufo-Addo added that heads of state institutions can no longer hide when it comes to the performance of Ghana’s economy.

“Board chairs and entity heads have for a long time been overlooked when blame is being apportioned for the downturn in Ghana’s economic fortunes, with the flak going largely to sector ministers and to Mr. President. You can no longer stay in the shadows while others receive the backlash for the nation’s current problem,” he is quoted to have said while delivering a keynote address at the maiden State Interest and Governance (SIGA) annual stakeholder meeting held over the weekend at Kwahu Abetifi in the Eastern Region.

The report indicated that President Akufo-Addo could not understand why state enterprises contribute less than 5 percent of Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

He, therefore, urged the heads of these entities to take on the responsibility of making these agencies more visible as well as front and centre to Ghana’s development process.

“Jump-starting our economy begins with you, you should be the major drivers of the economy, rather than being a financial burden.