Former Board Chairman of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Hon. Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, has refuted claims by former VRA CEO, Dr. Charles Wereko-Brobbey, linking him to the power distributor’s past financial troubles.
Dr. Wereko-Brobbey’s comments, which suggested Afenyo-Markin was at the helm during ECG’s financial woes in 2023, have been met with strong opposition.
Afenyo-Markin, the current Effutu Member of Parliament and Minority Leader labelled Dr. Wereko-Brobbey’s assertions as factually inaccurate and misleading. He clarified the timeline of his leadership at ECG.
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“I was not the Chairman of the ECG Board in 2023, as Dr. Wereko-Brobbey suggested. My appointment occurred on 16th July 2024, with my official swearing-in on 17th July 2024. My tenure was relatively brief, concluding in January 2025Afenyo-Markin stated.
The former ECG Board Chairman emphasized that any attempt to connect him with ECG’s financial losses in 2023 or the early months of 2024 is unfounded and disingenuous.
During his short tenure, Afenyo-Markin outlined several reform initiatives aimed at bolstering ECG’s operational efficiency and curbing financial losses. These included a focus on modernizing the company’s metering infrastructure, with a significant push to expand prepaid meter coverage to tackle revenue leakages.
Afenyo-Markin recounted, “At my very first board meeting, I took decisive action to abolish ECG’s outdated procurement model. I implemented a new system where payments were only processed after the verification of deliveries. This single change resulted in substantial cost savings for the company.
Acknowledging the issues with outdated and malfunctioning meters, Afenyo-Markin stated that many of ECG’s meters had either expired or were not functioning correctly, which significantly contributed to operational inefficiencies. According to him, addressing this issue became a top priority during my leadership.”
The Minority leader also highlighted his administration’s commitment to financial responsibility by ensuring record cumulative payments to Independent Power Producers (IPPs).
He rejected the notion of addressing ECG’s challenges through frequent tariff hikes or the introduction of new levies, describing such approaches as short-sighted and potentially counterproductive.
“My approach has consistently been rooted in advocating for cost-saving reforms, rather than imposing new burdens on the Ghanaian people through tariff increments,” Afenyo-Markin asserted, referencing his public opposition to the recent one Cedi Energy Sector Levy on fuel.
He argued, “It is a misguided strategy to continually resort to tariff increases or new levies without first addressing the deep-rooted inefficiencies within the system. Currently, less than 30% of electricity consumers pay for the power they use—the remaining amount is lost due to illegal connections, poor billing practices, and various systemic lapses.”
Aiming at the current NDC administration’s recent electricity tariff increases—a 14.75% hike in May followed by an additional 2.45% in July, totalling a 17.2% increase—Afenyo-Markin deemed them unjustifiable without tangible efficiency improvements.
“Tariffs must be justified by demonstrable efficiency gains, not simply imposed on the populace to cover up instances of mismanagement,” he added.
While recognizing the efforts of previous ECG leadership, particularly in digitizing revenue systems and launching the Loss Reduction Programme, Afenyo-Markin stressed that his brief time as Chairman was dedicated to building upon these foundations through the implementation of structural reforms.
Addressing Dr. Wereko-Brobbey directly, Afenyo-Markin stated, “I welcome dissenting views and constructive criticism, but they must be firmly grounded in verifiable facts. Dr. Wereko-Brobbey, if you possess any credible evidence to substantiate your claims, I challenge you to present it publicly.”
Afenyo-Markin reiterated his commitment to fostering national dialogue and pursuing non-partisan solutions to tackle the challenges facing Ghana’s power sector. He emphasized that the path forward for ECG lies in comprehensive structural reform, rather than engaging in partisan blame games, and affirmed his continued focus on delivering genuine value through enhanced service and greater transparency.