Former Managing Director of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Samuel Dubik Mahama, has made a striking revelation regarding the company's investment landscape during President Nana Akufo-Addo's initial term in office. Speaking at the JoyNews National Dialogue on Thursday, April 10, 2025, Mr. Mahama stated that there was virtually no investment injected into ECG during that period. This lack of financial commitment, he explained, stemmed primarily from the government's prevailing strategy of pursuing the privatization of the national power distribution entity.
"If you cast your mind back, during the President’s first tenure, all efforts were geared towards sending ECG into privatisation. So, there was zero investment in the company," Mr. Mahama asserted. This singular focus on privatization, he argued, effectively sidelined any potential investments that could have bolstered ECG's infrastructure and operational capacity. The period in question was marked by the controversial Power Distribution Services (PDS) deal, which saw the management of ECG transferred to PDS for approximately eight months before the agreement ultimately collapsed. This failed privatization attempt, Mr. Mahama suggested, contributed significantly to the stagnation of investment within ECG.
The abrupt termination of the PDS deal resulted in ECG reverting to state control, a transition that occurred just as Ghana was approaching the critical 2020 general elections. This period of flux and uncertainty, according to Mr. Mahama, further exacerbated the company's existing challenges and hindered any prospects for meaningful investment.
Upon assuming the position of Managing Director in 2022, Mr. Mahama undertook a comprehensive "health check" of ECG's operations. His findings revealed a stark disparity between the company's rapid customer growth and its data management capabilities. "What I found was that although there had been massive growth in the number of ECG customers, this was not properly reflected in the company’s data," he disclosed. The existing Commercial Management System (CMS), initially introduced through a World Bank project, proved inadequate to handle the burgeoning customer base.
Mr. Mahama further elaborated on the deficiencies of the billing system, stating, "The billing system had its own deficiencies. When it hit the 4.5 million customer mark, new customers being added were not being captured in the billing system. They were hanging." This systemic failure, he implied, created significant operational challenges and potentially impacted the company's revenue collection.
Mr. Mahama's revelations shed light on a period of significant operational and investment challenges for ECG, highlighting the impact of the failed privatization efforts and the subsequent lack of investment. His statements raise important questions about the long-term consequences of such policy decisions on the stability and efficiency of Ghana's power distribution sector.
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