…Friendship and business ties sighted
The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) is once again, embroiled in controversy, raising fresh concerns over long-standing mismanagement and corruption within the state utility.
Despite consistent warnings from the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), civil society organisations (CSOs), and investigative journalistic reports—most notably by The Herald—political elites and sections of the media, either ignored or actively resisted scrutiny of ECG’s operations.
Now, with revelations surfacing about missing containers at the port, attention has turned once more to the deep-seated misconduct that has cost Ghana billions of cedis.
Among ECG’s many troubling episodes, Samuel Dubik Mahama’s tenure as Managing Director, stands out as particularly disastrous.
Under his leadership, ECG’s financial and operational performance deteriorated significantly, while he sought to manage public perception through strategic media engagements, political alliances, and calculated interactions with CSOs.
However, behind the scenes, procurement abuses, insider dealings, and reckless mismanagement thrived. These included wanton procurements, the appointment of unqualified directors and the promotion of allies to key management positions.
A notable case is that of the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, who could have ordered an investigation into Dubik, but was previously engaged as his lawyer.
Reports suggest that a legal opinion authored by Dr Ayine in favour of Dubik’s procurement activities at ECG, is now being circulated within the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Similarly, through Ayine & Partner, his law firm, Dr Ayine, had also acted as lawyer for Fidelity Bank Ghana, which had financial transactions with the ECG during the tenure of Dubik Mahama.
Moreover, the Minister of Energy and Green Transition, Dr John Jinapor, established a ministerial committee that awarded contracts to selected suppliers without competitive bidding. This led to excessive spending, significantly exceeding ECG’s procurement budget by billions of cedis. Despite this, he had previously praised Dubik’s leadership.
The government’s investigation, has uncovered severe procurement violations at ECG, revealing that Dubik Mahama, awarded contracts to specific suppliers without competitive bidding.
This occurred, following the collapse of the ECG’s Procurement Department and its subsequent merger with the Estate Department.
The ministerial committee established by Dr Jinapor and led by Prof. Innocent Senyo Kwasi Acquah, was to investigate the procurement and clearance of approximately 2,500 containers at Tema Port and also uncovered significant financial mismanagement.
Other findings were that out of 2,462 containers listed by ECG on its Uncleared Containers List (UCL), 1,328 containers were unaccounted for, while 34 were still in transit as of January 31, 2025.
The committee, said neither the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) nor ECG, could explain the whereabouts of the missing containers.
A visit to Tema Port, revealed that some containers had been opened, with items removed. The committee attributed the delay in clearing these containers—leading to a staggering GH¢ 909.5 million in demurrage fees—to negligence by ECG management.
ECG, had set aside GH¢ 5 million per month for clearing containers, but halted these payments in 2022, worsening the backlog.
Despite claiming financial constraints, ECG, continued awarding contracts beyond approved thresholds, increasing uncleared containers, which reached 2,491 by December 2024.
The investigation further exposed ECG’s procurement practices, which were marked by excessive spending.
In 2022, ECG budgeted GH¢ 225.4 million for conductors, but ended up spending GHS 1.1 billion—a 404% overspend.
Procurement was predominantly single-sourced, including contracts awarded to Mint Logistics Ltd and Dawards Bond Ltd for container clearance and a Digital Payment Platform Services Agreement with Hubtel Ltd.
Bulk breaking was widespread, allowing contracts to remain within the Managing Director’s financial approval threshold of USD 1 million.
A contract worth GHS 127,650,000, was awarded to a company not registered Customs House Agent, despite ECG being a self-declarant.
At least 1,346 containers valued at Four hundred eighty-nine million, ninety-nine thousand, two hundred forty-one dollars and sixty-two cents (USD 489,099,241.62), could not be accounted for, including high-value items such as transformers.
ECG pre-financed Mint Logistics Ltd with GHS 30 million for clearing services, despite claiming financial distress.
Dawards Bond Ltd, fraudulently cleared 47 containers without paying duties/taxes, but delivered only 46 to ECG, demanding GHS 5,290,000 for services. The evaded duties and taxes amounting to GHS 4,799,763.43.
ECG failed to comply with the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663), as amended, and its justification for exemption from compliance when using internally generated funds (IGF) was found to be legally invalid.
The recommendation was that GPHA investigate how a company moved ECG containers from the port without a trace.
The report recommended that past and present ECG management officials be held accountable for the missing 1,328 containers through a forensic audit. It added that the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) should investigate procurement breaches and impose sanctions in accordance with the Public Procurement Act.
In response to these findings, National Security operatives arrested 12 Chinese nationals and one Ghanaian on March 27, 2025.
They allegedly illegally processed stolen electrical cables traced to a smelting facility in Shai Hills. Additionally, 40 missing containers were recovered from a warehouse in Kpone, leading to the arrest of an Indian national, who claimed to have legally purchased the containers the previous year. Investigations remain ongoing.
The ECG procurement scandal, highlights systemic procurement failures, inadequate oversight, and financial mismanagement, posing severe implications for Ghana’s energy sector and public finances.
As legal proceedings advance, whether the masterminds behind ECG’s financial collapse will face genuine accountability remains.
One of the most egregious revelations in recent times involves ECG’s procurement of electrical cables—ostensibly to support the expansion of the electricity distribution network—only for these same cables to be sold for recycling.
Instead of investing in infrastructure growth, ECG leadership under Dubik Mahama, allegedly prioritised deals that benefited a select few at the expense of national development.
Despite mounting evidence of these abuses, Dubik Mahama and his inner circle, who operated with impunity, appear protected by a system reluctant to hold them accountable.
The recent scandal involving over 1,000 missing ECG containers at the port has left many wondering about the government’s true stance on corruption at the state utility.
Arrests have been made, mainly targeting foreign nationals accused of purchasing ECG cables through auctions, but the key perpetrators, whose sole interests were procurement and more procurement, are still sipping from golden glassware, confident in their protection.
A glaring question remains: Why has Dubik Mahama, the man at the center of these procurement breaches, not been the primary target of government action? This is fueling speculation and confirmation of rumours of the complicity of key ministers currently responsible for taking action.
The Attorney General is a critical player in this unfolding drama, whose historical involvement with ECG raises conflict-of-interest concerns.
When CSOs sought to hold ECG accountable for bypassing procurement laws, the Attorney General was one of the strongest voices advocating that ECG should be exempt from standard regulations.
His position in the Fidelity Bank v. CSOs case reinforced suspicions that his legal manoeuvring served interests beyond the public good.
Further complicating matters, The Herald has uncovered that the Attorney General recently met with Dubik Mahama amid ongoing investigations into his ECG tenure.
This raises concerns about whether the legal system is being used to shield, rather than prosecute, those responsible for ECG’s financial haemorrhaging.
The meeting has reportedly caused unease within the National Democratic Congress (NDC) while bringing a sense of relief and comfort to some within the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Another key figure in this saga is the Energy Minister, who initiated investigations into the missing containers, but now faces a credibility crisis. Given his past defence of Dubik Mahama, insiders question whether he has the resolve to pursue the matter fully.
When the Akufo-Addo administration finally decided to remove Dubik Mahama from ECG, John Jinapor, was among his most vocal defenders.
He claimed that Dubik Mahama, was being ousted for resisting pressure from the President’s inner circle—an assertion that many industry watchers found misleading.
In reality, Dubik Mahama’s dismissal was tied to procurement violations, governance failures, and dubious appointments within ECG, including the creation of positions filled by unqualified individuals. He decided to jump ship with his resignation when his dismissal letter was leaked to him before he received it.
Again, the prominent media personalities harped on the resignation to ensure it stuck in the minds of the people, rather than the sacking by the then-chief of staff at the time, as preempted by the current Energy Minister.
Despite his troubled record, Mahama sought to return to ECG after NDC’s electoral victory, reportedly buoyed by his ties to the Energy Minister during the party’s time in opposition. This raises further questions about the Minister’s proper stance on accountability within ECG.
For those hoping that this latest scandal will finally bring accountability to ECG, expectations should be tempered.
The Mahama government’s selective approach to enforcement suggests that while some lower-level players may be sacrificed, the political class will likely protect its own.
This is also a test case for President John Mahama and the current Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, to measure their real commitment to fighting corruption, controlling ministers’ behaviour, and defending campaign commitments against corruption.
With the Attorney General’s past involvement with ECG and the Energy Minister’s history of defending Dubik Mahama, there is growing skepticism about whether the real masterminds behind ECG’s failings will ever face justice. The billions of dollars lost due to ECG’s mismanagement represent a heavy burden on the Ghanaian economy, yet those responsible continue to evade meaningful consequences.
For now, public outrage on social media and among CSOs remains one of the few sources of pressure. However, whether this will be enough to force real change remains an open question.