Government’s Debt Payments were not Deposited into our Accounts, but Suppliers – ECG Clarifies

The ECG noted that government’s recent intervention has settled its indebtedness to suppliers

Government’s Debt Payments were not Deposited into our Accounts, but Suppliers – ECG Clarifies

The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has cleared up matters surrounding some debts payments made by the government to the company.

A statement from the ECG explained that, after the company undertook a reconciliation exercise with its suppliers, it was established that “at the end of 2016, Government of Ghana’s (GoG) indebtedness to ECG netting of all government payments was GHc2.63 Billion”.

Following the audit, the government had “averagely paid GHC2 billion directly to ECG’s suppliers (i.e VRA, IPPs and GRIDCo) to defray GoG’s indebtedness to ECG.”

The ECG emphasized that these payments were not made directly to its accounts, but its suppliers.

“We wish to reiterate that the payments made by the GOG were not deposited into ECG’s account. Rather GoG’s direct payments to our suppliers have cleared our books of GoG’s indebtedness after a successful reconciliation with our suppliers.”

The ECG’s clarification follows the dismissal by the Minority in Parliament that the Akufo-Addo government had settled arrears owed to the electricity company.

The Minister of Energy, Peter Amewu at a press briefing said the government had paid GHS2 billion annually to cover its bills.

 

READ ALSO:
Over 8,000 Applications Received for Covid-19 Stimulus Package, 24-Hours after Launch

 

The Energy Minster said the payment of the debts has given government credit balance of GHS500 million to pay for electricity bills for January to April 2020.

The ECG in its statement noted that government’s recent intervention has made it “balance sheet stronger”.

Read Full Statement Below