Amidst public frustration over high electricity bills and calls for increased tariffs, The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) is now facing a severe credibility crisis. The utility’s management was grilled at Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) after a 2024 Auditor-General’s Report exposed a staggering spending spree that saw its budget balloon to nearly double its allocation.
ECG’s approved budget of GH¢144 million exploded into an actual expenditure of GH¢333 million, with GH¢189.2 million spent without the necessary approvals. Delivering a blistering critique, Ranking Member Samuel Atta Mills condemned the “blatant fiscal indiscipline,” using specific examples to highlight the recklessness. “On staff fuel, ECG budgeted GH¢2.8 million but spent GH¢3.6 million,” he noted sarcastically. “Did they drive around the world?”
This pattern of excess was repeated across the board. The company spent GH¢7.9 million on communication against a GH¢4.2 million budget, while stakeholder expenses skyrocketed from GH¢3.1 million to GH¢49 million. Similarly, publicity costs and overseas travel far exceeded their allocated funds.
Declaring that “this level of recklessness cannot go unpunished,” Atta Mills demanded that sanctions under the Public Financial Management Act be applied, urging that the responsible officers face prosecution by the Attorney-General. The PAC session has intensified pressure on ECG, linking its financial mismanagement directly to the very operational inefficiencies and tariff demands that have angered the public.
