Energy Minister John Abdulai Jinapor has stated that he is not surprised by the recent financial discrepancies uncovered in the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) audit of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
Speaking on TV3’s Hot Issues on February 16, 2025, Jinapor revealed that the National Democratic Congress (NDC), while in opposition, had repeatedly raised concerns about ECG’s operational inefficiencies and financial mismanagement.
According to Jinapor, the NDC had long suspected that ECG’s system was plagued by inefficiency, under-declaration of revenues, and unplanned procurement activities. These issues, he believes, have now culminated in the significant financial discrepancies highlighted in the PwC report. “I am not surprised at what we’ve just gotten to know in respect of the PwC report. Right in opposition, we kept insisting that the system was inefficient. ECG was mismanaging funds, under-declaring revenues, and engaging in so much unplanned procurement, some of it unbudgeted for. That is what has led to this,” he explained.
The Minister disclosed that after reviewing ECG’s first-month report for the year, he discovered that the company collects approximately GHS 1.5 billion monthly, but about GHS 500 million of that amount is not declared under the Cash Waterfall Mechanism (CWM). This, he said, directly violates the CWM policy, which is designed to ensure transparency and fairness in the distribution of revenue within the energy sector.
“ECG collects about GHS 1.5 billion, and of that amount, about GHS 500 million is not declared as far as the Cash Waterfall Mechanism is concerned. What ECG does is keep GHS 500 million first before taking more from the GHS 1.5 billion, which is in contravention of the policy,” Jinapor stated.
The PwC audit, conducted between October and December 2023, revealed a staggering revenue discrepancy of GHS 567 million. This inconsistency was identified between the Customer Waterfall Mechanism and ECG’s Cash Settlement Platform, raising serious concerns about the transparency and efficiency of ECG’s financial management systems.
The findings have sparked widespread criticism and calls for accountability, as ECG plays a critical role in Ghana’s energy sector. The company’s financial mismanagement not only undermines public trust but also has far-reaching implications for the stability and sustainability of the country’s power supply.
Jinapor’s comments highlight the need for urgent reforms within ECG to address these systemic issues. As the government works to restore confidence in the energy sector, the revelations from the PwC report serve as a stark reminder of the importance of transparency, accountability, and sound financial management in public institutions.
For now, the focus remains on how ECG and the government will respond to these findings and what steps will be taken to prevent such discrepancies in the future. The Energy Minister’s acknowledgment of the problem is a step in the right direction, but concrete actions will be needed to ensure that ECG operates in a manner that benefits both the sector and the nation as a whole.
