Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has accused some staff of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) of planning and plotting with Customs Officers at the port to sell over 1,300 missing containers of cables at the Tema Port.
Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Friday, March 28, 2025, Afenyo-Markin questioned how the containers simply vanished into thin air despite bureaucratic processes at the port.
“How come containers at the port that have arrived, the bureaucracy at our ports, they said the containers are missing? Mr. Speaker, it is true that when these containers come, there’s some connivance with some customs officials. And they sell these containers of cables that ECG needs after the supplier has been paid.”
He further alleged that the cables are resold to ECG, urging lawmakers to focus on addressing the issue rather than politicizing it.
“They sell the containers, and people resell to ECG. Are we pretending we don’t know? Instead of us paying attention to it and killing the rot, then we come here and then NPP, NDC, maybe it happened under NPP, it happened under NDC. No.”
Afenyo-Markin assured the Energy Minister of the Minority’s support in tackling the issue.
“Hon. Energy Minister [John Jinapor], I know what you can do if we can give you support to do it. You must adopt a non-partisan posture and tackle the rot. But if we all want to approach it NPP, NDC, then Mr. Speaker, it will remain.”
His remarks follow the retrieval of some missing containers.
Meanwhile, Minister of Energy and Green Transition, John Jinapor, has announced a reduction in ECG’s budget from GH₵500 million to GH₵250 million to help clear debts owed to power producers.
Jinapor disclosed that ECG was allocated GH₵935 million in 2023 for planned procurement but exceeded its budget by GH₵7.3 billion, mainly on cables.
To address the crisis, he outlined key measures in Parliament.
“We have reduced their budget from GH₵500 million to GH₵250 million. Because we must pay the power producers. Today, the bill is over GH₵80 billion in the energy sector. If we don’t do something, this sector will collapse. As a minister, I am determined to do my bid no matter how difficult it is,” he stated.
Watch video:
Missing ECG Containers:
There is some connivance with custom officials to sell the containers at the port – Minority Leader, Afenyo-Markin alleges
VC: Parliament of Ghana pic.twitter.com/vyHbA15FBw
— GTV Ghana (@GTV_Ghana) March 28, 2025
