As per the Auditor-General’s findings, the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has been involved in procurement breaches amounting to over $145 million. The power distributor’s board and management neglected to adhere to the Public Procurement Act while entering into 50 contracts for the procurement of 862,750 meters and accessories between 2016 and 2021.
The 2022 Performance Audit Report on the Management of Meters by the Electricity Company Limited revealed that ECG did not adequately consider legal procedures to ensure transparency and competitiveness in the tender process, thus failing to achieve value for money.
A graphic.com.gh report on the issue read in part: “Though the meters procured were taken through rigorous testing to ensure that specifications were met, ECG did not take steps to explore the possibility of getting meters of the same specifications at lower prices from other manufacturers other than the ones in its database.”
Why the audit?
The purpose of the audit leading to this revelation was to assess ECG’s planning, budgeting, procurement, and monitoring processes concerning its installed meters to combat power theft effectively.
The audit spanned from August to December 2022, encompassing the period from 2016 to 2021.
During the audit process, crucial documents were thoroughly reviewed, and auditors conducted interviews with key personnel across various departments within the ECG system. These interviews included personnel from the ECG Head Office, Metering and Technical Services (MTS) Division, Materials and Depot in the Greater Accra Region, as well as four selected regional and nine district offices.