Former President John Dramani Mahama has firmly dismissed claims that his administration plans to privatise the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), stating that the focus is rather on forging public-private partnerships to inject much-needed efficiency into the country’s electricity distribution system.
“Let me assure you that it is not my intention to privatise ECG as an institution. Our attention is more on a public-private collaboration to inject efficiency into our downstream electricity distribution system,” Mahama clarified while addressing workers at the 2025 May Day celebrations at Black Star Square in Accra.
He painted a stark picture of the current state of the power sector, revealing that ECG has accumulated a staggering GH¢68 billion in debt due to poor governance over the past eight years. According to him, if swift action is not taken, the consequences could be dire.
“The ECG has been brought to its knees by a culture of poor governance over the last eight years, with a debt of GH¢68 billion and rising. If we do not do something drastic, our whole power sector will collapse. We can only bring down power tariffs if we improve efficiency in the distribution of power,” he explained.
Mahama drew on a practical example from his previous administration to support his stance.
“When I was President, in the free zones, a private company, Enclave Power, was given the right of metering and billing in the free zone. ECG provided them with a bulk supply of power.
“They pay ECG, and until today, they still pay ECG monthly on time. Their billing and collection in the free zones enclave is 99% of revenue collected,” he said.
With that model in mind, he expressed confidence that collaboration with the private sector could help restore financial discipline and operational efficiency without selling off ECG.
“I am sure that we can make our electricity distribution more effective through public-private partnerships, but I can assure you that electricity as an institution,” he reiterated.
