President John Mahama has assured Ghanaians that the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) will not be privatised, despite ongoing concerns about the state of the country’s power sector.
Speaking at the May Day celebration at Black Star Square on Thursday, May 1, he addressed growing fears about the possible privatisation of ECG, stating clearly that his government has no intention of selling off the state-owned power distributor.
“Let me assure you that it is not my intention to privatise ECG as an institution. Our attention is more on a public-private collaboration to inject efficiency into our downstream electricity distribution system,” the President said.
He explained that ECG is currently burdened with debt and inefficiencies, which threaten the stability of the entire power sector.
“The ECG has been brought to its knees by a culture of poor governance over the last eight years, with a debt of GH¢68 billion and rising. If we do not do something drastic, our whole power sector will collapse. We can only bring down power tariffs if we improve efficiency in the distribution of power,” he stated.
President Mahama said public-private partnerships offer a workable solution and pointed to a successful model from his previous term in office.
“When I was President, in the free zones, a private company, Enclave Power, was given the right of metering and billing in the free zone. ECG provided them with a bulk supply of power.
“They pay ECG, and until today, they still pay ECG monthly on time. Their billing and collection in the free zones enclave is 99% of revenue collected,” he said.
He said this example shows that partnerships with private entities can help improve efficiency without handing over ownership.
“I am sure that we can make our electricity distribution more effective through public-private partnerships, but I can assure you that electricity as an institution will not be privatised,” President Mahama emphasised.
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