The Minority in Parliament has raised fresh concerns over the financial condition of Ghana’s power sector, claiming that government owes more than $700 million to Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and fuel suppliers.
Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, April 28, Deputy Ranking Member on Parliament’s Energy Committee, Collins Adomako Mensah, said the challenges facing the energy sector go beyond technical issues and are largely driven by financial constraints.
“We also know that the problems of the sector are not only technical; they are financial,” he stated.
He argued that despite assurances from the Minister for Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson, that outstanding debts to IPPs had been cleared, available data suggests otherwise.
“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.
According to the Minority, the figures contradict earlier government claims of improved financial stability within the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the wider energy sector.
They are therefore calling on government to clarify the true financial position of the sector, especially in relation to the recently introduced 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,” Mr. Adomako Mensah stated.
