Managing News Editor of The Newscenta newspaper, Elvis Darko, has taken a swipe at people behind the alleged inflated procurement contract at the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), accusing them of enriching themselves at the expense of the public.
Mr. Darko was reacting to findings in the 2024 Auditor-General’s Report, which uncovered several irregularities involving ECG and its revenue collection partner, Hubtel, including inflated procurement figures, unauthorised contracts, and lack of accountability in commission deductions.
He said the conduct of the officials involved is not only fraudulent but also indicative of a broader culture where people benefit from state funds and later disparage others as unproductive.
“The Auditor-General has established that the manufacturer’s cost is around $30 million. Even if we are empowering local players and buying through them, the total cost should not be more than $60 million. But ECG ended up paying $30 million again — and that is where the issue is.
“So those who did that procurement, they have become rich overnight. They will tell you that you are lazy. You don’t know, you are not smart. That’s why you are not rich,” he said on Channel One TV’s Breakfast Daily on Thursday, July 24.
The Auditor-General’s report shows that ECG paid over GH¢75 million to Hubtel in 2022 as part-payment of service fees without showing the auditors any contract.
In 2024, ECG retroactively signed a five-year contract with Hubtel, backdated to January 2023, without securing approval from the Public Procurement Authority.
In 2023 alone, Hubtel deducted GH¢149 million from the over GH¢10.3 billion it collected on ECG’s behalf, presumed to be its 1.5% commission.
However, no monthly billing statements were provided to justify the deductions, making it impossible to verify whether the amount was accurate.
Elvis Darko believes these developments should compel government to take procurement more seriously and bring transparency to how state institutions spend public funds.
“This is why we have to pay attention to procurement. Let’s use this ECG case as an eye-opener,” he said.
