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Energy Minister John Abdulai Jinapor has revealed troubling financial irregularities within the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), particularly concerning the procurement and handling of essential electrical equipment.
Jinapor accused ECG of repeatedly failing to clear critical electrical supplies from Ghana’s ports, leading to huge financial losses. He cited a shocking instance where high-value equipment was left unclaimed, later auctioned at a fraction of its worth, and eventually repurchased by ECG at an inflated price.
> “I checked with the port, and the security report I received shows that a container worth about $500,000 was imported. ECG couldn’t clear it, and somehow, someone was able to buy it at auction for 100,000 cedis, then resell it to ECG for $300,000,” he revealed in an interview with TV3.
Expressing strong dissatisfaction over these financial leakages, Jinapor vowed to put an end to such corrupt practices, stating that necessary actions will be taken regardless of any opposition.
> “It will stop. And I mean it will stop. Whatever it takes to stop that, no matter how unpopular that may be, we must take action,” he declared.
Calls for Accountability and Reform
Jinapor’s revelations have intensified public concerns about accountability at ECG, prompting urgent calls for reforms to prevent further financial mismanagement.
In response, the Minister has established a special committee to investigate ECG’s procurement activities during the Akufo-Addo administration.
> “So we’ve commissioned a committee to investigate ECG’s procurements and the cost of these containers stuck at the ports. The committee is doing a very good job,” he stated.
Preliminary findings from the committee indicate that previous ECG managers did not follow proper procurement procedures, leading to financial irregularities.
“So far, the preliminary reports I have gotten indicate that there’s massive rot at ECG,” Jinapor disclosed.
Broader Energy Sector Audit Planned
To ensure transparency and efficiency within Ghana’s energy sector, Jinapor announced plans for a comprehensive audit, including an assessment of human resources and technical operations.
> “But beyond that, there will be another technical report. What the PwC has done is a financial audit. We want to do a human resource audit, a deeper audit of the entire energy sector, which will then give us a clear picture of the inefficiencies so that we can tailor that in terms of our policy objective and policy directive to address this,” Jinapor explained.
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