The Minority in Parliament is alleging that the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) is grappling with a debt of $1.5 billion.
Ranking Member of the Energy Committee of Parliament, John Jinapor, who disclosed this said the company’s indebtedness to the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) is affecting it’s effectiveness.
The lawmaker said the debt is primarily due to ECG’s failure to meet its financial obligations to the IPPs and its inability to settle bills for purchased electricity in full.
He also asserted that ECG was engaged in wasteful spending on items like cables, malfunctioning meters and unnecessary contracts.
He referenced a report from the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) to support his claims saying the ECG allegedly mismanaged funds, diverting significant sums away from debt repayment to other expenditures.
He made the remarks in an interview with the media.
“ECG owes $1.5 billion, when they take the money from Ghanaians, they fail to pay the IPPs and use the funds to do whatever they want with it and they fail to pay the full price of the power they purchase PURC has brought a report that when ECG comes in possession of a substantial amount of money they refuse to pay the debt they owe, they spend the money recklessly, and this is an official report from the PURC.
“Some of the things they buy, they don’t even need it, and now they want to be buying fuel, which is not even their core duty, all these are reasons the finances aren’t adding up,” he added.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
