Following disclosures of significant budget overruns at Parliament’s Public Accounts
Committee (PAC), the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has been the subject of intense scrutiny.
The CEO of the utility company and his staff were questioned about GH$189.2 million in unapproved spending. Ranking Member Samuel Atta Mills delivered a scathing indictment of the company’s financial practices, citing specifics from the 2024 Auditor-General’s Report and charging ECG management with flagrant fiscal indiscipline and disrespect for due process.
The Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem (KEEA) MP remarked, mockingly, “On staff fuel, ECG budgeted GH$2.8 million but spent GH$3.6 million.” Did they drive around the world?”
The pattern persisted across a number of spending categories.
* Communication expenses: budgeted at GH$4.2 million, spent GH$7.9 million.
* Consultancy: budgeted at GH$40 million, spent $58.6 million.
* Industrial relations: budgeted at 2 million cedis spent 13 million cedis
* Stakeholder expenses: budgeted at 3.1 million cedis spent 49 million cedis
* Publicity: budgeted at 5.7 million cedis spent 21.8 million cedis
* Professional fees and subscriptions: budgeted at 731,000, spent 1.5 million cedis
* Overseas travel: budgeted at 14 million cedis, spent 29.8 million cedis
* Call centre operations: budgeted at 23.5 million cedis, spent 29.3million cedis
ECG had an approved budget of GH$144 million, but its actual spending skyrocketed to GH$333 million, almost twice the amount.
“Financial indiscipline” is how Mr. Atta Mills described the spending binge,
asking that penalties be imposed in accordance with law.
He stated the officers in charge will be subject to the Public Financial Management Act (Act 921).
“This level of recklessness cannot go unpunished,” He stated
“It’s that easy those managers who were involved should be prosecuted by the Attorney General.”
As the utility company continues to push for tariff increases amid public frustration over high electricity bills and operational inefficiencies, calls for accountability within ECG have gotten louder during the PAC session.
Stakeholders are now demanding transparency in how funds are managed and spent, emphasizing the need for reforms that prioritize customer service and reliability. As the situation develops, it remains to be seen how ECG will address these pressing concerns and whether they can regain the trust of the public.
