The Executive Director of the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), Benjamin Boakye, has disclosed that the true figure of Ghana’s outstanding energy debt could be much higher than GH¢70 billion.
He argued that the government’s estimate of $14.5 billion for the energy sector by 2023 could be more when the figure is converted at today’s exchange rate, which could exceed GH¢200 billion.
“The question is how much of this debt has been paid off by the government. Without clear data, it’s difficult to verify the GH¢70 billion claim,” Boakye stated.
Speaking on the Saturday morning talk show the Key Point, the energy expert raised concerns over the country’s growing energy debt and emphasized transparency in debt reconciliation and a need for a comprehensive audit of inefficiencies in the sector.
He clarified that while the ESLA (Energy Sector Levy Act) has generated significant revenue, not all funds went directly toward energy debt repayment.
Ben Boakye raised a fundamental problem in Ghana’s approach to energy sector debt servicing and argued that revenue from ESLA has largely been used to pay interest on bonds rather than reduce the principal debt.
“We converted the legacy debt into bonds, and instead of reducing the total debt, we are now using ESLA revenues to pay coupons on those bonds. This means we are far from resolving the core issue,” he stated.
Impact
Ben Boakye expressed concerns about how Ghana’s growing energy sector debt affects broader economic development.
He pointed out that the government is projected to spend approximately GH¢96 billion from 2023 to 2026 to service energy sector under-recoveries—an amount that exceeds capital expenditure for critical sectors like agriculture, fisheries, education, and health.
He also stressed the burden placed on consumers who continue to pay levies on petroleum products and electricity bills to fund debt servicing while the structural inefficiencies causing the debt remain unresolved.
Mr. Boakye called for urgent institutional reforms and a recalibration of how Ghana manages its electricity generation, transmission, and distribution to address these debt issues.
He said, “Electricity provision is a business, and we must treat it as such. We cannot keep accumulating debt for responsible consumers to pay while allowing inefficiencies and power theft to persist.”
He noted that recent government efforts, such as setting up a committee to explore private sector involvement in managing the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo), are steps in the right direction but must be expanded to include a sector-wide audit.
He also charged the government to provide clear and accurate data on energy sector debt and how ESLA revenues have been used in the past eight years.
“The public deserves to know where their money is going. Accountability and transparency are critical if we are to address Ghana’s energy sector crisis sustainably,” he stressed.
By Osumanu Al-Hassan/thenewsbulletin24.com