They say, "A good beginning makes a good ending," and according to former Managing Director of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Samuel Dubik Mahama, he left the company not only in capable hands but in robust shape.
Reflecting on his tenure during the recent JoyNews National Dialogue on April 10, Mahama painted a picture of transformation and transition. His pride was palpable. Under his leadership, ECG made significant strides in digitalisation—an achievement he places at the heart of his legacy.
“Last year, around this same time in February, the digitalisation process came to an end. ECG went fully cashless, and revenue started flowing in,” he recounted. The board, he added, finally had the clarity to act on long-stalled projects, some gathering dust for up to six years. "Better late than never," as the saying goes.
Yet, Mahama didn’t shy away from admitting the uphill battles he and his team faced. Chief among them was the age-old issue that plagues many public institutions: inadequate funding. Many projects were left gasping for resources, starved of materials and investment. But, as the proverb goes, “Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors,” and Mahama stood his ground.
To navigate these rough waters, the board introduced a key measure before his departure, ring-fencing a portion of ECG’s daily revenue to fund system improvements. “I can say for a fact the company was in a very good and healthy situation,” Mahama emphasized, pointing to this decision as a critical turning point.
In another strategic move, the board explored fresh, innovative ways to negotiate the company’s long-standing tax burdens with the government—an area that had often been a sticking point. “Necessity is the mother of invention,” and necessity, in this case, sparked dialogue and strategy.
But not all was well in the final chapter of his leadership. Despite his contributions and vested interest in the company’s future, Mahama revealed that he was excluded from discussions on the interim report, a decision he found disappointing. “One of my major issues towards the end was that I wasn’t given a hearing,” he admitted. A classic case of "A man who is not consulted will find his tools rusty."
In all, Samuel Dubik Mahama’s time at ECG appears to be one of bold reforms shadowed by systemic challenges, of progress met with pushback. But true to another timeless adage, “You plant trees under whose shade you do not expect to sit.” His hope, it seems, was to lay the groundwork for ECG’s continued transformation, whether or not he remained at the helm.
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