Calls for transparency in Ghana’s power sector are growing louder, with a compelling proposal from the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) that could reshape public trust in how electricity finances are handled.
Duncan Amoah, Executive Secretary of COPEC, believes that beyond the ongoing debates about new levies and financial bailouts, the country must first fix its accountability mechanisms. His prescription is simple but far-reaching: create a transparent, public-facing dashboard showing exactly how much the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) collects, and how it is spent.
In an interview with The High Street Journal, he said “There must be a transparent dashboard, showing how much ECG collects, what the collections are applied to, how much has been paid, and what debts continue to accumulate monthly.”
The call comes at a time when Ghanaians are being asked to pay more through newly introduced fuel levies, framed as part of efforts to shore up finances in the energy sector. But Amoah cautions that unless deeper inefficiencies are addressed, especially at ECG, no amount of revenue collection will solve the sector’s persistent challenges.
He points out that a lack of transparency allows inefficiencies and corruption to flourish, particularly in areas such as procurement, transmission losses, and the utility’s many scattered accounts. A public dashboard, in his view, could empower citizens, allow for better oversight, and ultimately reduce the need for reactionary taxes.
“If there’s a need to bridge a certain gap by increasing tariffs, then let’s have the numbers. If 3% isn’t enough but 10% would solve it, the Ghanaian would understand, if there’s transparency,” Amoah explained.
Such a move, he adds, would also reinforce the idea that the burden of mismanagement should not continue to fall on ordinary citizens who have had no hand in creating the problems.
“Once debts are created, it’s not ECG that pays,” he noted. “It’s the people of this country, people who may never have been part of the decision-making, that are asked to pay later through taxes.”
With fuel levies and tariff hikes already testing public patience, COPEC’s call for real-time financial disclosure may offer a new path, one rooted in trust, clarity, and citizen empowerment.
