By Daniel Bampoe
The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) is once again at the centre of a storm after it was accused of gross financial mismanagement and blatant disregard for budgetary discipline.
This follows shocking revelations at Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) sitting, where the company was found to have overspent by a staggering GH¢189.2 million without parliamentary approval.
The controversy stems from the 2024 Auditor-General’s Report, which flagged numerous instances of unapproved expenditures and financial irregularities at the state-owned power distributor.
Appearing before the PAC on Tuesday, October 29, 2025, ECG’s Chief Executive Officer and his management team faced intense questioning from lawmakers over the company’s decision to exceed its approved spending limits across several operational areas.
According to the report, ECG had an approved budget of GH¢144 million for 2024 but ended up spending GH¢333 million — almost double the allocated figure.
This massive overrun was spread across multiple expenditure categories.
The company spent GH¢3.6 million on staff fuel, exceeding its GH¢2.8 million budget, while communication costs shot up from GH¢4.2 million to GH¢7.9 million.
Consultancy fees ballooned from GH¢40 million to GH¢58.6 million, and industrial relations expenses skyrocketed from GH¢2 million to GH¢13 million.
The trend continued with stakeholder engagement costs increasing alarmingly from GH¢3.1 million to GH¢49 million, and publicity expenses soaring from GH¢5.7 million to GH¢21.8 million.
ECG also overspent on professional fees and subscriptions (GH¢1.5 million instead of GH¢731,000), overseas travel (GH¢29.8 million instead of GH¢14 million), and call centre operations (GH¢29.3 million instead of GH¢23.5 million).
Ranking Member on the Committee and Member of Parliament for Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem (KEEA), Samuel Atta Mills, expressed outrage over what he described as a “culture of financial indiscipline” at ECG.
“On staff fuel alone, they budgeted GH¢2.8 million but spent GH¢3.6 million. Did they drive around the world?” he quipped sarcastically, condemning what he called “reckless spending and disregard for financial accountability.”
Atta Mills further called for the strict application of sanctions under Section 96 of the Public Financial Management Act (Act 921), which prescribes punitive measures for officers who breach financial rules.
“This level of recklessness cannot go unpunished. Those managers involved must be referred to the Attorney-General for prosecution — it’s that simple,” he insisted.
The PAC hearing has reignited broader concerns about inefficiency and weak financial controls within ECG, a company already facing public criticism for unreliable service delivery and frequent tariff hikes.
This is not the first time ECG has been accused of financial mismanagement. In previous audits, the company faced queries over procurement breaches, unaccounted revenues, and failure to follow proper approval processes for major expenditures.
Calls for restructuring and enhanced oversight have repeatedly been made, yet little progress has been observed in enforcing accountability within the power distributor.
