In a shocking development, three employees of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and seven others have been charged with 20 counts of money laundering and stealing more than GH¢2.1 million worth of prepaid credits. This is a serious blow to the reputation of ECG, a government-owned company responsible for the distribution of electricity in Ghana.
The three ECG employees named in the charges are Ali Nansii Shaibu, a computer programmer at the ICT Department at the Head office, Grace Gardiner, Chief Supervising Cashier of the ECG District office at Kasoa, and Anthony D. K. Quaye, a technician at ECG district office Kasoa. The remaining accused persons are Ibrahim Baba Adamu Technician at Ghana Electrometer Company, and private vendors Muntari Adamu, Gariba Awudu Misbaw, Kwasi Appiah Donkor, Eric Yaw Kyei, and Augustina Laniyan, who sold ECG pre-paid power credit to the public.
According to prosecutors, the accused individuals colluded to manipulate the ECG’s pre-paid power credit system, resulting in the theft of millions of cedis. In 2003, ECG entered into a partnership agreement with various companies, including Electrometer, to provide pre-paid power distribution to customers across the country. Private dealers were tasked with engaging in the sale of the credits as well.
Prosecutors allege that Ali Nansii Shaibu travelled to Hohoe in 2016 to resolve a pre-paid connectivity challenge for Gariba Awudu Misbaw, the 7th accused person. The two then agreed to manipulate the software to enable pre-paid credits to be sent to Gariba without the knowledge of the Hohoe District Office of the ECG. Gariba would then delete the transaction and share the proceeds with Shaibu.
This scheme resulted in the transfer and sale of credits worth ¢199,351.60. Shaibu is said to have entered into similar deals with other accused persons, resulting in the theft of ¢1,203,249.26 worth of credits. Other transactions with other accused persons resulted in various amounts being stolen, and investigations put the total value of stolen credits under this scheme at 2,143,270.15.
The accused individuals have reportedly admitted to the offense and refunded an amount of 282,600.00 cedis. However, they all pleaded not guilty when the charges were read against them in court. The hearing of the case will resume on April 27, 2023.
This case highlights the need for strict controls and oversight in the management of public resources. The ECG must take urgent steps to review its systems and procedures to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future. The government must also ensure that those found guilty of the theft and laundering of public funds face the full force of the law. Only then can we hope to restore trust and confidence in our public institutions.