Mahama Calls for Urgent ECG Reforms as Losses Rise to 32%

Dec 16, 2024 - 22:43
Mahama Calls for Urgent ECG Reforms as Losses Rise to 32%

Ghana's President-elect, John Dramani Mahama, has sounded a warning about the country's ailing economy. His comments come despite President Akufo-Addo's upbeat assessment of the country's third-quarter growth.

At the heart of Mr Mahama's concerns is the struggling energy sector, which he believes is in urgent need of reform. The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) is haemorrhaging money, with commercial and technical losses of over 32% - a situation Mr Mahama describes as unsustainable.

Speaking during a courtesy visit by the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council, the President-elect called for sweeping reforms to the electricity value chain, aimed at improving efficiency and ensuring a reliable power supply. Failure to address these issues, he warned, could jeopardise the progress made under the debt exchange programme and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreement.

Mr Mahama also outlined his broader economic vision, which includes stabilising the economy, cutting waste, and overhauling the tax system. He believes that creating a more transparent and business-friendly tax environment is crucial to attracting foreign investment and creating jobs for Ghana's young people.

"The energy sector can derail everything that we've done with regard to the debt exchange and with regard to the IMF programme because the debts continue to pile up there.

“The ECG governance is in a very bad way, and so they are making commercial and technical losses of more than 32%. There's no utility company that can survive with 32% commercial and technical losses and still continue to be a viable utility and so as quickly as possible, we need to do reforms, in the whole electricity value chain," he said.

“If we are to remain competitive, we must rationalize the taxes, make them more transparent, so that foreign investors feel attracted to come to our country, to come and set up businesses and industries so that we can get employment for our young people,'' he added.

Source: Lead News Online