Impunity is causing recurrence of procurement breaches at the ECG – Domelevo

Former
Auditor
General,
Daniel
Domelevo
has
blamed
the
recurrence
of
procurement
breaches
at
the
Electricity
Company
of
Ghana
(ECG)
on
the
lack
of
punishment
for
persons
who
engaged
in
the
practice.

He
says
the
lack
of
punitive
measures
serves
as
an
incentive
for
the
breaches
to
continue.

His
comments
come
at
a
time
that
the
Auditor-General’s
(A-G)
report
has
uncovered
that
the
ECG
procurement
of
meters,
which
exceeded
$145
million,
violated
the
Public
Procurement
Act.

The
report
also
revealed
that
ECG
was
unable
to
fully
recover
the
excess
of
GH53.9
million
identified
through
monitoring
and
did
not
take
legal
action
against
customers
involved
in
electricity
theft,
which
could
have
served
as
a
warning
to
others.

The
audit
spanned
from
August
to
December
2022
and
examined
the
period
from
2016
to
2021
at
various
ECG
locations,
including
the
headquarters,
Metering
and
Technical
Services
(MTS)
Division,
the
Materials
and
Depot
in
the
Greater
Accra
Region,
as
well
as
four
selected
Regional
and
nine
district
offices.

“ECG
signed
50
contracts
to
procure
862,750
meters
and
its
accessories
amounting
to
USD145,010,153.92
over
the
audit
period
without
adhering
to
the
requirement
of
the
Public
Procurement
Act.”

“I
think
it
is
strange
that
ECG
that
needs
money
will
have
all
this
money
and
not
go
for
them.”