Former Managing Director of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Samuel Dubik Mahama, has revealed that there was virtually no investment made in the company during the first term of President Nana Akufo-Addo’s administration.

Speaking at the JoyNews National Dialogue on Thursday, April 10, Mr Mahama explained that the lack of investment was largely due to the government’s focus on privatising the power distribution company during that period.

"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 stated.

He recounted the failed Power Distribution Services (PDS) deal, which saw the management of ECG transferred to PDS for about eight months before the deal collapsed.

Following the botched privatisation attempt, ECG reverted to state control just as the country was heading into the 2020 general elections, he added.

"When I assumed office in 2022 as Managing Director, one of the first things I did was to conduct a health check on the company," Mr Mahama disclosed. "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 explained that the system ECG was using — the Commercial Management System (CMS), introduced through a World Bank project — was unable to handle the increasing number of customers.

"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 said.