Mr John Abdulai Jinapor, Minister for Energy and Green Transition, has appeared before Parliament’s Energy Committee to give an update on the investigation into alleged missing containers belonging to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
The Minister expressed gratitude to the Port Authorities and the Minister for Transport for their crucial assistance in tracking the containers.
“We are working with them, and I thank the Minister for Transport and the Port Authorities for their openness,” Mr Jinapor stated, highlighting the importance of inter-agency collaboration.
In March 2025, the Ministry of Energy and Green Transition reported that about 1,300 ECG containers were allegedly unaccounted for, with only 40 recovered at the time.
However, the Ministry recently announced that the committee investigating the alleged missing containers belonging to the ECG had successfully traced 2,637 containers, marking a breakthrough in the ongoing probe.
On prosecution, the Minister clarified that the Attorney General was responsible for taking action, and the Ministry had submitted a report requesting further investigation to build a solid case.
“The Attorney General has opted for further investigation to build a solid case, and the Ministry is relying on this process to ensure appropriate action is taken,” he told the Committee in Parliament House.
To prevent similar incidents, Mr Jinapor revealed that the Ministry had implemented administrative reforms, including decoupling the procurement unit and recruiting qualified procurement experts.
“All procurement processes must now go through public procurement channels,” Mr Jinapor emphasized, adding that quarterly procurement reports will be required to track activities and ensure adherence to budgets.
He also highlighted concerns about past procurement practices at ECG, where “procurements were largely ‘single-sourced without any form of competition,’ raising concerns about value for money.
Mr Jinapor assured the committee that these practices had been discontinued.
Regarding the broader energy sector, he acknowledged the challenges inherited, including a load shedding deficit of up to 790 megawatts.
However, he expressed satisfaction with recent improvements, noting that “the past month, which is May, was quite stable. I anticipate a positive outlook for June with stability of power supply,” he said.
In a bid to strengthen the distribution system, the Minister noted that he had approved ECG’s procurement of transformers from within Ghana and expected to boost the country’s energy infrastructure and reliability.