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ECG Accused Of Exchange Rate Manipulation Leading To GH¢7 Billion In Losses
Ghana

ECG Accused Of Exchange Rate Manipulation Leading To GH¢7 Billion In Losses

by  Delali Adogla-Bessa 2 min read
  • The Africa Center for Energy Policy (ACEP) has questioned the Electricity Company of Ghana’s (ECG) exchange rate transactions
  • The think tank believes ECG has been reporting erroneous exchange rates to the Cash Waterfall Committee
  • ACEP is trying to use the Right to Information process to get the historical exchange rates used by ECG for its transactions

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The Africa Center for Energy Policy (ACEP) has questioned the Electricity Company of Ghana’s (ECG) exchange rate transactions for power distribution.

The think tank said ECG has been reporting exchange rates to the Cash Waterfall Committee that are significantly higher than the inter-bank rates.

ECG Accused Of Exchange Rate Manipulation
The government is facing calls to privatise the power distributor. Source: Electricity Company of Ghana
Source: Facebook

A Policy Lead on Petroleum and Conventional Energy at ACEP, Kodzo Yaotse, told Joy News the discrepancy has led to substantial financial losses.

“This exchange rate manipulation created a net exchange loss of about GH¢6.5 billion in 2022 and about GH¢7 billion in 2023.”

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Yaotse said this points to a troubling trend that has significant implications for the financial health of ECG.

ACEP is trying to use the Right to Information (RTI) process, to request for the historical exchange rates used by ECG for its transactions but has been unsuccessful so far.

Warning from PURC

The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission said ECG's debts have reached unsustainable levels.

The commission said the company is currently struggling to generate enough revenue to even pay workers' salaries on time and finance any administrative functions.

It also said it was time for the government to begin considering some solutions to save the company from collapsing under its debt.

This has led to some calls on the government to privatise some parts of the ECG to improve efficiency and enhance power delivery.

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ECG embarks on debt collection exercise

YEN.com.gh reported that the ECG has been embarking on mass disconnection exercise to reduce debt levels.

The Electricity Company of Ghana's task force were set to disconnect 91 hospitals from the national grid due to debts still owed.

The health facilities, including Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in the Ashanti Region, were said to collectively owe GH¢261 million.

Proofread by Berlinda Entsie, journalist and copy editor at YEN.com.gh

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Source: YEN.com.gh

Authors:
Delali Adogla-Bessa avatar

Delali Adogla-Bessa (Current Affairs Editor) Delali Adogla-Bessa is a Current Affairs Editor with YEN.com.gh. Delali previously worked as a freelance journalist in Ghana and has over seven years of experience in media, primarily with Citi FM, Equal Times, Ubuntu Times. Delali also volunteers with the Ghana Institute of Language Literacy and Bible Translation, where he documents efforts to preserve local languages. He graduated from the University of Ghana in 2014 with a BA in Information Studies. Email: delali.adogla-bessa@yen.com.gh.

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