Dr. Kwabena Donkor, the Member of Parliament for Pru East, has slammed the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) for its recent donation of 200 motorbikes to the Ghana Police Service, labelling it irresponsible at its height.
According to him, the management of state entities, particularly those facing financial difficulties, should prioritise fiscal responsibility over donations
He argued that while donations from profitable entities might be acceptable, it is unacceptable for a loss-making state entity like ECG to make such contributions.
This comes after the management of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), led by the Board Chairman of ECG, Keli Gadzekpo, on December 12, 2023, gifted 200 motorbikes to the Ghana Police Service.
He also pledged that another 800 would be delivered in the coming days.
“It is high time that management of state entities, especially commercial state entities, take responsibility for their commerciality. If Ghana ports and Harbours Authority had done a donation, I would have had no quarrels with it because they are profitable. But for a loss-making state entity that is throwing the future and security of this country into danger because of their indebtedness, to go about donating 200 motorbikes is the height of irresponsibility,” he said in an interview with Joy News on Thursday, December 14, 2023.
Expressing his discontent, the Pru East MP said that the ministries under which the ECG operates must investigate the donation, which he suspects might be procurement-driven.
“I call on the minister for energy and the minister for public enterprises to call the ECG management to book. They should call them and whip them into line. Indeed this donation must be investigated. It is not in the national interest and it will be surprising if it is not procurement-driven. I am extremely disappointed as a former minister of power, as a member of the mines and energy committee of parliament and representing the good people of Ghana,” he stated.
Presently, the outstanding debt of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to Independent Power Producers (IPPs) amounts to approximately $2.2 billion.
Additionally, the state agency has an outstanding debt of around $658 million owed to the Bui Power Authority (BPA).
Source: ghanaweb.com
