A former United Nations governance advisor, Professor Baffour Agyeman-Duah, has alleged that a powerful network within Ghana’s electricity sector is deliberately exploiting consumers for profit.
Speaking on Newsfile on JoyNews on Saturday, February 28, on recent concerns about the disappearance of ECG credits, Prof Agyeman-Duah said he strongly suspects organised wrongdoing.
“I personally suspect there’s a cabal in the electricity sector that is determined to rip off Ghanaians forever. Somehow I believe it because of what I have experienced,” he said.
He said that the persistent controversies surrounding electricity meters point to deeper procurement and contractual problems.
“You see the whole thing of meters, meter selling, every administration wants to bring its own meters because that’s how they make the money to cheat us,” he alleged.
According to him, frequent changes in meters raise serious questions. He cited an instance where meters imported from Egypt allegedly failed to function.
“Do you know the time they imported some meters from Egypt? They were all discarded because they never worked,” he claimed.
Drawing from his personal experience abroad, Prof Agyeman-Duah compared the situation to what he observed in Tanzania.
“I was in Tanzania for five years. The same meter worked for me, and it continued to work when I left after five years,” he said. “Why is it that we are changing meters?”
He suggested that the repeated replacement of meters may be driven by financial interests rather than technical necessity.
“Because you know why? It’s a way for them to make money. Contracts, procurement. And that’s the truth,” he stated.
Prof Agyeman-Duah appealed directly to the President to take action, saying stronger oversight and transparency are needed in the electricity sector to protect consumers from exploitation.
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