The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) is under intense scrutiny following revelations by the Auditor-General that the company’s management spent hundreds of millions of cedis without the approval of its Board of Directors during the 2023 financial year.
The findings, detailed in the Auditor-General’s report on ECG’s 2023 accounts, were brought to the fore at a recent sitting of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC). The committee’s Ranking Member, Samuel Atta Mills, expressed grave concern over the scale of the overspending, noting that several expenditure items exceeded their approved budgets by tens of millions of cedis.
Among the most striking overruns, foreign training was budgeted at GH¢31 million, but actual spending reached GH¢91 million, an excess of GH¢60 million. Cleaning expenses ballooned from a budgeted GH¢2.8 million to GH¢10.4 million, while stakeholder expenses skyrocketed from GH¢3.1 million to GH¢49 million. Other significant overruns included consultancy (budgeted at GH¢40 million, actual spending GH¢58.6 million), publicity (budgeted at GH¢5.7 million, actual spending GH¢21.8 million), and industrial relations (budgeted at GH¢2 million, actual spending GH¢13 million).
In total, the 11 flagged expenditure items had a combined approved budget of GH¢105.431 million. However, ECG management ended up spending GH¢273.6 million, an overrun of GH¢168.169 million.
According to the Auditor-General’s report, these expenditures were made without the necessary approval from ECG’s Board of Directors, in contravention of established financial governance protocols. The issue was a focal point during the PAC’s examination of the company’s audited accounts, raising concerns about accountability and oversight at the state power distributor.
The revelations have sparked calls for further investigation and a review of ECG’s internal controls to prevent a recurrence of such financial irregularities.
Source: Apexnewsgh.com