President-elect John Dramani Mahama has sounded the alarm on Ghana’s energy sector, stating that it needs urgent reforms to prevent a catastrophic collapse.
The sector’s debt has ballooned to $2.5 billion, with the outgoing government led by President Akufo-Addo accused of mismanaging the sector, resulting in high debt levels, unreliability of power, and high tariffs on consumers.
Mahama emphasized that the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has a poor governance record, with a staggering 32% technical and commercial loss.
He also noted that Ghana could have saved up to $1 billion annually if the government had opted for gas in energy production instead of importing crude oil.
The dire state of Ghana’s energy sector has also been highlighted by Benjamin Boakye, Executive Director of the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP).
Boakye describes the sector as “systematically decimated” by mismanagement and inefficiencies, with the sector wasting over GH¢50 billion annually ¹.
