Ghana’s Electricity Company (ECG) has been found to have overspent its 2023 budget by a staggering GHC189 million, according to a parliamentary audit.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament recommended that the officers responsible be referred to the Attorney General for possible prosecution, a move that underscores serious lapses in financial discipline at the state-owned utility.
The audit shows that ECG’s approved budget of GHC144 million was exceeded by GHC333 million, with widespread overspending across multiple categories.
The table below outlines some of the major areas of overspending as highlighted by the committee:
| Expense Category | Budget (GHC million) | Actual (GHC million) |
| Foreign Training | 31 | 91 |
| Cleaning | 2.8 | 10.4 |
| Honorarium | 3.8 | 4.6 |
| Hotel Expenses | 9.3 | 12.2 |
| Staff Fuel | 2.8 | 3.6 |
| Communication | 4.2 | 7.9 |
| Consultancy | 40 | 58.6 |
| Industrial Relations | 2 | 13 |
| Stakeholders Expenses | 3.1 | 49 |
| Publicity | 5.7 | 3.1 |
| Professional Fees & Subscription | 0.131 | 1.5 |
| Overseas Travel | 14 | 29.8 |
| Call Center | 23.5 | 29.3 |
Foreign training accounted for GHC91 million against a GHC31 million allocation, cleaning costs reached GHC10.4 million compared with the budgeted GHC2.8 million, and hotel expenses soared to GHC12.2 million from GHC9.3 million.
Other major deviations included consultancy fees rising to GHC58.6 million from a planned GHC40 million, industrial relations expenses jumping to GHC13 million from GHC2 million, and stakeholders’ costs ballooning to GHC49 million against a GHC3.1 million budget.
Unremitted withholding taxes totaling GHC70.9 million were also highlighted, adding to concerns over the utility’s financial management. The PAC described the overspending as evidence of poor internal controls and weak oversight, calling for stricter monitoring and stronger accountability measures.
“Sanctions under Section 96 of the Public Financial Management Act, 216, Act 921, should be applied to the officers involved,” the committee said. It urged management to implement tighter controls to prevent recurrence of such financial breaches.
The revelations come as ECG seeks approval for a new electricity tariff increase, which has sparked public debate. The committee questioned whether consumers should bear the cost of mismanagement while the utility simultaneously requests higher rates.
