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Minority demands full disclosure on energy sector debts
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The Minority in Parliament is disputing claims by the Minister of Energy, John Peter Amewu, that the government has settled in full its indebtedness to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
The caucus has, therefore, challenged Mr Amewu to come out with the total debt portfolio in the energy sector so that Ghanaians appreciated the true state of indebtedness of the country in that sector.
Mr Amewu at the Ministers’ bi-weekly press briefing in Accra on Tuesday to update Ghanaians on the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation said the government had cleared the legacies debt in the sector including the GH¢2.63 billion it inherited from the previous government.
“It is a fact that on assumption of office, this administration was confronted with a huge indebtedness to the ECG. As of December 2016 the state owed ECG GH¢ 2.63 billion. Government ensured it was current on all bills incurred from 2017,” Mr Amewu said.
But the ranking member on the Mines and Energy Committee and Member of Parliament for Damango, Adam Mutawakilu, briefing the media in Parliament yesterday said the claims by the Energy Minister were not true.
“Currently, the ECG owes the Ghana Gas Company more than US$800 million, and, if you multiply $800 million by the exchange rate of GH¢5.5 that is over GH¢4 billion owed to one company. Besides, independent power producers have not been paid US$1.26 billion.
“The Minister of Energy did some cherry-picking analysis of the energy sector debts by picking debts of metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies owed to the ECG and fuel supply to analyse government’s performance in addressing the energy sector debt.
“What he refused to do was picking the total energy sector debts, including what debts the government inherited, what it had added and what debt is left. We therefore call on the minister to, as a matter of urgency, let Ghanaians know how much energy sector debt is left,” Mr Mutawakilu stated.
According to him, as far back as 2015, the legacy debt from 1992 to 2015 was US$2.4 billion.
With the introduction of the Energy Sector Levies Act (ESLA), he said, the debt had dropped to US$2.2 billion as at the end of 2016.
“So before President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo came to power, he knew that the energy sector debt was $2.2 billion and this is made up of what government owed the ECG, suppliers, independent power producers, banks and others.
“So by just coming to pick one item to analyse and say that you are doing well cannot be used to measure your performance.
“We call on the Minister of Energy to tell us how much debt is left for Ghanaians to pay, what has the ESLA, introduced by former President Mahama raised and how much they have been able to manage and to pay so that we will be able to know the total debt of the energy sector,” he demanded.
He claimed that out of what government had paid to fuel suppliers, the highest beneficiary was StratCom Energy which he alleged belonged to “family and friends of the Energy Minister.”
“So the payment of liquid supplied is just to liquid his family and friends to make money when independent power producers had not been paid US$1.26 billion.
“That is why we are asking that the Minister of Energy comes with the whole portfolio of debt so that we will know exactly how much we do owe as a country in the energy sector,” he stated.
BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI
The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) has announced changes to how the purity of gold will be tested for local purchases, with the new rules taking effect from October 1, 2026.
The notice was issued today by the Compliance Directorate of the Ghana Gold Board.
Under the new arrangement, the Water Density method will only be used to give an indication of the purity of gold and will no longer serve as the final basis for determining its purity, price or payment.
In a compliance notice issued on September 28, GoldBod said X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) testing would become the definitive method for determining the purity of gold doré purchased by the Board and its licensed buyers.
It explained that the applicable payment for gold would therefore be based on the purity determined through the XRF method.
However, GoldBod said where a licensed buyer is unable to use XRF due to genuine operational or logistical challenges, or where both the buyer and seller voluntarily agree to use the Water Density method, the gold would be purchased at a 0.7 percent purity discount.
The Board introduced a tolerance level for differences between successive XRF test results for the same gold or transaction.
According to the notice, the permissible difference between one XRF report and another must remain within plus or minus 0.1 percent.
GoldBod said any difference beyond that range would have to be verified before the transaction is completed or reported to the Board.
The new requirements apply to all aggregators and licensed gold buyers, who have been directed to ensure that they are fully prepared to comply with the changes by October 1.
GoldBod said the notice forms part of the terms and conditions of licences issued to aggregators and licensed gold buyers.
It warned that failure to comply with the new requirements would constitute a breach of the applicable licence conditions and could result in regulatory or enforcement action under the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 (Act 1140).
By: Jacob Aggrey
Investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni has waded into the debate over government support for Ghanaian evacuees, describing complaints over the amount given as “nauseating entitlement.”
In a strongly worded post shared on Facebook, Manasseh argued that Ghanaians who were airlifted from South Africa after xenophobic threats should show gratitude rather than discontent.
“Some countries abandoned their people because they either did not care enough or they did not think it was economically wise to spend huge sums of money chartering planes and evacuating their people. Your country did not abandon you. It chartered aircraft and lifted you,” he wrote.
According to him, government spent huge sums to bring citizens home at a time when the country has pressing needs that could have been addressed with that money, but no one complained because “your life as a citizen is just as pressing.”
Manasseh said it was therefore worrying that after the evacuation and subsequent financial support from the state, some beneficiaries are complaining that the amount is not enough.
“Sir, some people need only 2000 cedis to start a business, but the state has not given them anything. Others worked and paid taxes while you were away, but have not received a pesewa from the state. Think about that,” he stated.
He added that while the frustration of losing opportunities abroad is understandable, the evacuation was not forced but was done to save lives.
He added that “We can sympathise with whatever opportunities you may have lost by returning home, but note that the government did not forcibly evacuate you. Your safety was paramount. You could have lost your life if the government had abandoned you.”
Manasseh warned that such complaints only fuel negativity in the political space.
“Your complaints will please a section of our society that lives in perpetual search of negativity with which to score cheap political points. But to the discerning people, it is a nauseating sense of entitlement,” he stressed.
He concluded with a call for appreciation “And whatever you have been given to ease your return is an added bonus. Appreciate it and pray for more. There’s a vast difference between a favour and an entitlement.”
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
