Energy Minister John Abdulai Jinapor has confirmed the formation of a committee to investigate the Electricity Company of Ghana’s (ECG) procurement activities during the Akufo-Addo administration, following allegations of “frivolous procurements” leading to massive financial losses.
Jinapor revealed that approximately 3,000 containers procured by ECG are stuck at the ports, accumulating demurrage fees of about GHS 1.5 billion.
He expressed concern over these wasteful procurement decisions, noting that many of the items will expire in as little as five years, with others having a lifespan of up to ten years.
“It’s all because they are engaged in what I call very frivolous procurements. Now, they have about 3,000 containers stuck at the ports, generating demurrage of about GHS 1.5 billion, which is very unacceptable,” Jinapor said in a recent interview with TV3.
In response to the mounting concerns, Jinapor confirmed that a dedicated committee has been tasked with investigating ECG’s procurement activities, with a focus on understanding the financial burden caused by the containers. Preliminary reports have indicated that former managers at ECG failed to adhere to the proper procurement processes, resulting in significant inefficiencies.
The minister also announced that, alongside the procurement investigation, there will be a comprehensive audit of the energy sector.
This will include a human resource audit and a deeper technical review, aimed at identifying and addressing inefficiencies within the entire sector.
PwC has already completed a financial audit, but the upcoming reviews will offer a clearer picture of the sector’s challenges.
“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 said.
With these ongoing investigations, the Ministry of Energy hopes to identify the root causes of inefficiencies in ECG’s operations and in the broader energy sector, paving the way for targeted reforms and improvements.
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