In an attempt to resolve inefficiencies and stabilize the power industry, Minister-Designate for Energy John Jinapor has directed the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to immediately stop making any payments to suppliers. ECG staff members, especially those in the financial directorate, received a severe warning from Jinapor that disobeying this order would have dire consequences.
On Thursday, January 9, 2025, Jinapor revealed that ECG has been suffering significant income losses in an interview with Eyewitness News. Additionally, he highlighted the difficulty of efficiently overseeing and maintaining the organization’s over 70 accounts.
The Minister-Designate pledged to implement comprehensive reforms to optimize ECG’s operations and improve its overall effectiveness, with the aim of better serving the public and stabilizing the electricity industry. “The challenge of money stems from inefficiencies. If ECG loses over 40% of its power generated, no matter what you do, you cannot solve the problem. Other countries are losing only about 2-4%. So, with this $100 worth of power, you buy and sell, but you only collect 60%, and even with that, there are many contracts, quality assurance, IT, provision, and others. They are all deducting money at the source,” John Jinapor explained.
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He continued, “So, I have told ECG—this is also an instruction from the Chief of Staff—to cease all payments for supplies, and I mean it. I have told them, and if anybody is listening, especially in ECG, whether in the finance directorate, this was the instruction we gave them yesterday. Please don’t, and I mean it, because there will be serious consequences if you disregard this directive. We need serious buffers to stabilize the system. All those numerous accounts will be closed. They have over 70 accounts, and they cannot monitor them effectively, so we need to reform the sector, and we will reform it.”
