Ghana’s power sector is facing mounting financial pressure, with government debt now exceeding $700 million, according to the Minority in Parliament.
The Minority has raised fresh concerns over the financial state of the energy sector, revealing that the government owes significant sums to Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and fuel suppliers. Addressing the press on Tuesday, April 28, Deputy Ranking Member on Parliament’s Energy Committee, Collins Adomako Mensah, stated that the sector’s challenges go beyond technical issues and are deeply rooted in financial constraints.
“We also know that the problems of the sector are not only technical; they are financial,” he said.
According to him, despite earlier assurances by Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson that debts owed to IPPs had been cleared, available data suggests otherwise. He disclosed that government currently owes over $500 million to IPPs and more than $200 million to companies that supplied fuel for power generation.
These figures, the Minority argues, contradict government claims of improved financial performance within the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the broader energy sector.
He further called on the government to provide clarity on the sector’s financial position, particularly in relation to the Energy Sector Levy, commonly referred to as the ‘Dumsor levy’.
“We are calling on the Minister for Energy and the Minister for Finance to, within the shortest possible time, lay before Parliament and publish a full, detailed and independently verified report on the one Ghana cedi Dumsor levy, covering all collections made to date, all disbursements, and the outcomes of every expenditure,” he stated.
