INVESTIGATION LAUNCHED INTO ECG PROCUREMENT ACTIVITIES

The Minister for Energy and Green Transition, Hon. John Abdulai Jinapor, has established a five-member committee to investigate procurement activities carried out by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) during the Akufo-Addo administration.

The committee’s primary focus will be on the 3000 uncleared containers procured by ECG, which have accrued demurrage charges of approximately GH¢1.5 billion. The investigation aims to uncover the circumstances surrounding the procurement of these containers and the financial implications for the state.

According to Minister Jinapor on TV3 Ghana’s ‘Hot Issues’ on February 16, the committee will investigate ECG’s general procurement practices, the cost of the containers, liabilities involved, and recommend solutions to mitigate further financial losses. The committee has been given a one-month deadline to complete their investigation.

“We cannot sit idle and allow GH¢1.5 billion to be lost due to procurement failures,” Minister Jinapor emphasized. “This investigation is a critical step towards promoting transparency and accountability in the energy sector.”

“It’s all because they are engaged in what I call very frivolous procurements. Now, they have about 3000 containers stacked at the ports generating demurrage of about GHS 1.5 billion, that is very unacceptable. Some of the things they’ve procured will last them ten years, some will even expire in five years.

The move has been welcomed by stakeholders, who have long called for greater transparency in the management of state-owned enterprises.

The investigation is expected to shed light on the procurement practices of ECG during the Akufo-Addo administration and provide recommendations for improving the management of public resources. “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 all the energy sector which will then give us the clear picture as the inefficiencies so that we can tailor that in terms of our policy objective and policy directive to address this,” as reported by Raphael Ghartey.

Stay tuned for more updates on this developing story.

Michael Agbesi Kelly