The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has asked government to quarterly publish audit findings of the cash waterfall mechanism, aiming to boost transparency and accountability within Ghana's energy sector.

Finance Minister Dr. Amin Adam stated that this move is in response to a directive from the IMF to ensure a steady cash flow within the sector.

This initiative is particularly significant as the energy sector faces substantial financial challenges, including a debt burden exceeding one billion dollars owed to independent power producers.

Introduced in July 2017, the cash waterfall mechanism was designed to streamline revenue collection and distribution within the energy sector. However, its effectiveness has been limited, leading to mounting challenges in its implementation.

In light of these challenges, the government is enhancing transparency and addressing implementation issues.

By publishing audit findings of the cash waterfall mechanism, it aims to provide insight into how funds are collected and allocated within the energy sector, fostering greater accountability and trust.

“The cash waterfall mechanism is important because at least it ensures that there’s cash flow, every player in the value chain has some cash flow so that they can be able to meet their operational cost but it’s important to also state that we’ve had challenges implementing the cash waterfall mechanism as a result of which through collaboration with the World Bank, with the IMF, we have instituted some measures to make it effective.

“One of the measures we have introduced is to audit the cash waterfall mechanism quarterly. But we have also been required to publish the audit findings.”