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 warned that the Electricity Company of Ghana’s (ECG) financial mismanagement could have triggered a banking crisis without recent audit interventions.

A PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) audit uncovered ECG's use of 84 bank accounts across 20 banks, highlighting systemic irregularities, including GHS 1.1 billion in under-declared revenue and non-compliance with the Cash Waterfall Mechanism (CWM).

Banks reportedly extended overdrafts based on ECG's expected monthly cash flow of one billion cedis, increasing financial sector risks. Boakye emphasized that the audit reflects only three months of operations, suggesting deeper issues.

He called for comprehensive reforms to safeguard the energy sector’s financial and operational stability, warning that ECG's practices undermine trust in the power sector and could have broader economic implications.