ECG Missing Containers Scandal: What We Know So Far

YEN.com.gh details the main developments in the controversy regarding the disappearance of over a thousand Electricity Company of Ghana containers from Tema port.

The first months of the Mahama administration have been marked by the uncovering of alleged rot and corruption from the Akufo-Addo administration.

The most recent saga was sparked after Energy Minister John Jinapor announced on March 26 that 1,357 containers Electricity Company of Ghana had gone missing from the Tema port.

An investigative report on the Electricity Company of Ghana noted that the said containers were supposed to have been cleared from the port. The containers contained cables, poles and other essential items for the power distributor.

The committee that carried out the audit explained that the Electricity Company of Ghana initially claimed to have had 2,491 uncleared containers which contained cables and other important equipment.

The company used to have a dedicated fund for clearing the containers. Meanwhile, during this period, the company awarded contracts to two firms to clear the containers.

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It was further discovered that one of these companies lacked the necessary licence to carry out the contract, raising concerns over procurement breaches.

ECG missing containers: was anyone arrested?

After news of the scandal broke, the government wasted little time in making arrests, stating that it had been able to trace 40 of the missing containers.

After some intelligence gathering by National Security, the 40 containers were found in a warehouse in Kpone owned by an Indian national.

National Security later made 14 arrests linked to two aluminium smelting companies located in Shai Hills. In these instances, security personnel found evidence that suggested links to the missing containers.

On March 28, Jinapor visited the two companies, Dangfang Company Ltd and Ponlok Manufacturing Company Ltd, to assess the discoveries.

According to reports from the ground, burnt pellets with Energy Ministry markings were found at Ponlok manufacturing company.

Later, some more containers were found at the Atlas Dry Port after an operation led by the director of investigations at the National Security Council, Chief Supt. Osman Alhassan. He noted that some cables were disguised under tyre rims to avoid detection.

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On April 2, the Agona Swedru Divisional Police Command seized a truck loaded with electrical cables suspected to have come from the missing containers in the Gomoa Central District of the Central Region. Two men were also arrested.

What has the past ECG leadership said?

Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, who was the Board Chairman of the Electricity Company of Ghana, claimed the company's officials had been conniving in the sale of missing containers of cables at the port.

Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Friday, March 28, Afenyo-Markin questioned how the containers could vanish despite bureaucratic processes at the port.

“How come containers at the port that have arrived, the bureaucracy at our ports, they said the containers are missing? Mr Speaker, it is true that when these containers come, there’s some connivance with some customs officials. And they sell these containers of cables that ECG needs after the supplier has been paid.”

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Media tour by former ECG boss

The former Managing Director of the Electricity Company of Ghana, Samuel Dubik Mahama, has been on a media tour after coming under fire because of the scandal.

Mahama has denied any involvement in the scandal and asked for clear timelines concerning the involvement of the past management.

On whether the containers went missing at all, he suggested that they were either misplaced or auctioned by the Ghana Revenue Authority due to failure to clear them from the port on time.

Who is investigating the missing ECG containers?

On April 2, Jinapor formally requested the Ghanaian Attorney General to lead the probe into the disappearance of the containers.

3News also reported that the Energy Minister had also requested an investigation be launched by the National Investigation Bureau.

Source: YEN.com.gh