The Executive Director of the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), Benjamin Boakye, has criticised the politicisation of Ghana’s energy sector and inefficiencies within the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) which he says have worsened the power sector challenges.

Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile, Mr Boakye lamented the lack of transparency in the sector, blaming political interference for undermining accountability and sustainable energy solutions.

He also accused ECG of mismanagement and overpricing in its procurement processes, stressing that the funds collected are being misused, hence the company's struggle to pay millions of dollars owed to independent power producers.

“If we continue managing the power sector this way, it will get out of government’s hands, and the problems will only get bigger and deeper,” he warned.

Speaking about the fears of a worsening power crisis should more IPPs shut down their plants, Mr Boakye highlighted how the energy sector's transparency has significantly changed over the years. He pointed to a time in 2015 and 2016 when real-time data on power plant operations was publicly accessible through an online dashboard.

“This level of transparency helped ensure accountability,” he said. “Today, because of politics, everyone is being guarded against providing data. There’s no visibility on what’s happening in the sector, and that’s how terrible the system has become.”

“The power situation got out of hand long ago because the government has been more focused on paying bills, even when it shouldn’t,” he explained. “Without the government sacrificing and redirecting funds meant for development to pay electricity bills, there will be no power in Ghana.”

He cited gross inefficiencies and financial mismanagement. He accused the utility company of engaging in shady procurement practices, which he claimed resulted in inflated costs for both services and items.

“If you go to ECG and diagnose their contracting and expenditures, there is not a single item they procure that isn’t two to three times more expensive than market prices, whether for services or items,” Mr Boakye stated.

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“We all know what the problem is,” he said. They said they are not collecting enough but they are grossly inefficient with what they collect.

“They need money for themselves to engage in shady contracting and pay more for what they purchase. They said they are not collecting enough, but they are also incredibly abusing what is being collected,” he added.

Mr Boakye warned that if the current mismanagement and lack of transparency persist, the energy sector problems will deepen, creating even greater challenges for the government and citizens.

He called for immediate steps to address inefficiencies, promote transparency, and depoliticize energy management to ensure a sustainable future for Ghana’s power sector.

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