ECG’s Banking Practices Could Have Sparked Financial Crisis, Says Ben Boakye
Ben Boakye, Executive Director of the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), has cautioned that the Electricity Company of Ghana’s (ECG) extensive banking operations could have triggered a banking sector crisis if not for recent audit interventions.
In a tweet, Mr. Boakye highlighted findings from a PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) audit that uncovered ECG’s use of 84 bank accounts across 20 banks, revealing systemic financial mismanagement.
He noted that the banks were providing overdrafts to ECG based on expectations of a billion-cedi monthly cash flow, exacerbating risks to the financial sector.
“ECG’s operations across 20 banks could have triggered a full-scale banking crisis without the audit intervention. The banks were providing overdrafts to ECG based on the promise of a billion cedi monthly cash flow,” he tweeted.
Audit Unveils Widespread Irregularities
The PwC audit identified GHS 1.1 billion in under-declared revenue and revealed ECG’s non-compliance with the Cash Waterfall Mechanism (CWM)—a framework designed to ensure equitable revenue distribution within Ghana’s power sector.
Mr. Boakye described the audit as a critical step in exposing high-level mismanagement.
“This audit has been valuable in exposing high-level mismanagement and questionable systems undermining the integrity of the power sector. I dare say this is still just the tip of the iceberg,” he remarked.
Adding that, the audit reflects only three months of ECG’s operations, a period following the presidential directive for ECG to comply with the cash waterfall mechanism (CWM).
“Before the Presidential directive, the situation was far worse when the Dubik-run management decided not to comply with the CWM. The earlier PwC audit update covering the same period uncovered 62 bank accounts; now the number stands at 84. Only time will tell how many accounts will ultimately be identified by the end of this exercise,” he stated.
Broader Sectoral Implications
Mr. Boakye’s comments underscore the broader risks posed by ECG’s financial practices to Ghana’s banking sector and energy stability.
The extensive use of overdrafts and opaque account management systems has eroded trust in the utility’s financial integrity and raises concerns about potential ripple effects on creditors and the energy supply chain.
With the audit findings now in the public domain, ACEP has called for comprehensive reforms to safeguard the power sector’s financial and operational stability.
