The Minority in Parliament has raised fresh concerns over the financial health of the power sector, revealing that the government owes more than $700 million 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, said the challenges facing the sector extend beyond technical constraints and are deeply rooted in financial difficulties.
“We also know that the problems of the sector are not only technical; they are financial,” he stated.
He noted that although the Minister for Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson, had previously assured that debts owed to IPPs had been cleared, data available to the Minority suggests otherwise, indicating substantial outstanding payments.
“The data available to us is that the government owes IPPs over $500 million and over $200 million to companies that supplied fuel for power generation,” he disclosed.
These figures, the minority argued, contradict earlier government claims of improved financial performance within the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the wider energy sector.
In response, he called on the government to provide clarity on the true financial position of the sector, particularly following the introduction of the Energy Sector Levy, widely 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.
