The Electricity Company of Ghana has been caught up in a procurement mess worth over $145m , according to records available to the Auditor-General’s Department.
The Management and board of the power distribution company failed to follow laid down procedures enshrined in the Public Procurement Act in signing 50 contracts to source 862,750 meters and accessories between 2016 to 2021.
According to the 2022 Performance Audit Report from the Office of the Auditor-General on the activities of ECG, failed to ensure legal and appropriate processes for value for money was conveyed during the award of the contracts.
A section of the report quoted” though the procured meters were taken through rigorous testing to ensure quality standards, the state power distributor did not take additional steps to get the same meters of the same specifications at lower prices through competitive tendering from other manufacturers other than the suppliers in its database”.
Background
The audit that occasioned this discovery was to verify how ECG planned, budgeted, procured and monitored its installed meters to prevent and reduce power theft.
The audit was conducted between August to December, 2022 and covered the period between 2016 and 2021.
