Ghana: Gov’t Will Not Privatise ECG– President Mahama Assures Organised Labour

The President of the Republic of Ghana, H.E. John Dramani Mahama, has assured Ghanaians that his administration will not privatize the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), despite ongoing concerns about the state of the country’s power sector.

According to him, what the government is seeking is private sector participation in the operations of ECG, and not an outright sale of ECG as speculated.

Addressing Ghanaian workers at the May Day celebration at Black Star Square on Thursday, May 1, the President addressed growing fears about the possible privatization of ECG.

“Let me assure you that it is not my intention to privatize ECG as an institution. Our attention is more on a public-private collaboration to inject efficiency into our downstream electricity distribution system,” the President said.

He explained that ECG is currently burdened with debt and inefficiencies, which threaten the stability of the entire power sector.

“The ECG has been brought to its knees by a culture of poor governance over the last eight years, with a debt of GH¢68 billion and rising. If we do not do something drastic, our whole power sector will collapse. We can only bring down power tariffs if we improve efficiency in the distribution of power,” he stated.

President Mahama said public-private partnerships offer a workable solution and pointed to a successful model from his previous term in office.

“When I was President, in the free zones, a private company, Enclave Power, was given the right of metering and billing in the free zone. ECG provided them with a bulk supply of power. They pay ECG, and until today, they still pay ECG monthly on time. Their billing and collection in the free zones enclave is 99% of revenue collected,” he said.

He said this example shows that partnerships with private entities can help improve efficiency without handing over ownership.

“I am sure that we can make our electricity distribution more effective through public-private partnerships, but I can assure you that electricity as an institution will not be privatized,” President Mahama emphasised.

Source:https://energynewsafrica.com