Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) is calling for the removal of the Electricity Company of Ghana’s (ECG) management, citing poor leadership and alleged mismanagement.
ACEP highlights that revenue losses have surged dramatically, rising from GH¢295 million in 2017 to a staggering GH¢9.7 billion in 2022.
During a press conference on Thursday, September 19, ACEP’s Policy Lead on Petroleum and Conventional Energy, Kodzo Yaotse, urged for the dismissal of ECG’s management due to their failure to effectively improve revenue collection.
“The growing fiscal burden imposed on the economy by ECG’s poor performance has become a ticking time bomb that can undermine the progress made after the domestic and international debt restructuring to keep Ghana solvent.
“With the level of debt accumulation and the intervention required of the state, it is just a matter of time before Ghana is plunged into another debt crisis.
With IPP debt mounting and gas suppliers and transporters demanding payments, the pressure on the government to sacrifice social investment is high.”
Mr. Yaotse also called for an end to what he said is a wasteful use of state resources, which he said cannot be allowed to persist.
“The political lethargy to enable ECG to deliver value to the people of Ghana continues to hurt Ghana’s budget and, by extension, development efforts.
The Energy Sector Recovery Programme (ESRP) estimates that realised power sector shortfalls between 2019 and 2023 were about US$8.25 billion.
“This is a sheer waste of public resources that cannot persist. In light of the above.”