- ECG Received Zero Investment Under Akufo-Addo's First Term
- Former ECG MD Reveals Privatisation Focus Left No Room for Investment
- ECG's Billing System Failed to Capture 4.5 Million Customers
Samuel Dubik Mahama, former Managing Director of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), has revealed that the company saw virtually no investment during President Nana Akufo-Addo’s first term in office.
Speaking at the JoyNews National Dialogue on Thursday, Mr. Mahama attributed the lack of investment to the government’s push to privatize the power distributor. According to him, this focus diverted attention from infrastructural development and operational improvements.
“If you cast your mind back, during the President’s first tenure, all efforts were geared towards sending ECG into privatisation. So, there was zero investment in the company,” Mr. Mahama emphasized.
He recounted the ill-fated Power Distribution Services (PDS) arrangement, under which ECG was managed by PDS for approximately eight months before the deal ultimately collapsed.
Following the unsuccessful privatization initiative, ECG was returned to full state control, coinciding with the lead-up to Ghana’s 2020 general elections, he noted.
Having assumed the role of Managing Director in 2022, Mr. Mahama said one of his first priorities was to evaluate the company’s overall state.
“What I found was that although there had been massive growth in the number of ECG customers, this was not properly reflected in the company’s data,” he disclosed.
Mr. Mahama further explained that the ECG’s Commercial Management System (CMS), established under a World Bank project, was unable to keep pace with the rapid growth in customer numbers.
“The billing system had its own deficiencies. When it hit the 4.5 million customer mark, new customers being added were not being captured in the billing system. They were hanging,” he pointed out.
