The former Managing Director of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Samuel Dubik Mahama, has revealed that the company needs approximately ₵600 million each month to operate efficiently.

Speaking on JoyNews' Pulse, Mr Mahama explained that ECG is facing significant financial challenges and is essentially operating on a "hand-to-mouth" basis.

Despite the increasing demand for services such as new meters and service connections, he noted that the company struggles to meet these needs due to a lack of sufficient funds.

Mr Mahama also emphasised that ECG cannot borrow money from banks as it is restricted under the Public Financial Management (PFM) Act, which requires the company to obtain proper clearance before taking on any debt. "ECG cannot simply go to the bank and borrow money," he explained. "We need proper clearance, and that is a limitation we have to work with."

Addressing the issue of the cash waterfall system, which has been a point of discussion, Mr Mahama warned that full compliance with this mechanism would worsen ECG’s financial difficulties.

He stated, "Even if we follow the cash waterfall mechanism, it will only add to the financial constraints we are already facing."

He further noted that the company is already burdened with substantial financial obligations, particularly to banks, and the costs associated with collecting payments continue to strain ECG’s resources. When the proposal for a single collection account was introduced, ECG was already heavily indebted to banks, further complicating the financial situation.

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Mr Mahama stressed the importance of understanding the broader financial picture of ECG and urged the public not to oversimplify the company’s challenges by attributing them to claims of under-performance or under-declaring revenue by GH₵1.1 million.

"We must look at the bigger picture and recognise the broader financial difficulties the company is facing," he concluded.

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