EDITORIAL: Missing ECG containers: Blot on nation’s conscience

An investigative report has revealed that over 1,300 containers belonging to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) have vanished into thin air at the Tema Port.

The containers, which were supposed to be cleared at the port, contained essential electrical cables and equipment worth billions of Ghana cedis.

The investigation exposed a web of corruption and mismanagement within ECG. It was discovered that ECG had initially reported 2,491 uncleared containers but an independent audit found only 1,134 containers, leaving 1,357 unaccounted for.

This discrepancy raises serious questions about the accountability and transparency of ECG's procurement processes.

Further investigation revealed that ECG had awarded contracts to two firms to clear the containers, one of which was pre-financed by ECG.

However, one of the companies lacked the necessary licence to carry out the contract, raising concerns over procurement breaches.

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The committee also found that ECG's procurement directorate had been merged with its Housing and Estate unit, and the Director of Procurement had no prior experience in procurement and was not a member of any professional procurement body.

The Daily Graphic notes that a very compelling reason for the director to belong to a professional procurement body is that membership typically requires adherence to a code of ethics and professional standards that promotes integrity, transparency and accountability in procurement practices, helping to enhance the credibility and trustworthiness of staff both within the organisation and among external stakeholders.

By being a member of a professional group, individuals can demonstrate their commitment to excellence, stay current with industry developments, and enhance their credibility and career prospects.

Thus, people who man areas in an organisation such as Human Resources, Engineering, Accounts, Audit, among others, are required to belong to professional bodies.

It is also baffling that a large organisation such as ECG would merge the Procurement Directorate with its Housing and Estate unit.

It is trite knowledge that by dividing processes among different departments, organisations ensure that no single department has too much control, and this has proven to reduce the risk of errors, fraud and inefficiencies.

It is thus mindboggling that a separate procurement department that will typically ensure independence, objectivity and specialised expertise, leading to more efficient, effective and strategic procurement processes, would be merged with another department, and we think this calls for more questions and further probing.

It is, however, a piece of good news that the government has given an assurance that reforms will be implemented to prevent such incidents in the future.

In fact, the Minister of Energy, John Abdulai Jinapor, has ordered a criminal probe into the matter, and he has affirmed that those responsible would be prosecuted.

We are also happy to note that the minister has also announced the decoupling of the procurement unit at ECG  within a week, and swift, far-reaching measures introduced to reform procurement processes at the company

The Daily Graphic is of the strongest belief that those found culpable in the matter of the missing containers should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law to serve as a deterrent to others.

And as has been assured by the minister, we reiterate the immediate need for the overhaul of ECG's procurement processes to ensure transparency, accountability, competitiveness and the separation of the procurement unit from the Housing and Estate unit to prevent conflicts of interest.

If the investigative report is anything to go by, then in all these, we wonder the whereabouts and role of the ECG’s internal audit processes.

What was the internal audit unit doing all that while? Something is certainly not adding up!

With this humongous scandal at ECG, we want to remind the government that the Auditor General’s report has flagged public procurement breaches  over the years as a serious issue, with widespread corruption and mismanagement of public funds.

The reports also reveal a significant increase in procurement irregularities, with losses arising from irregularities increasing by over 800 per cent between 2010 and 2020.

Indeed, the ECG case has brought to the fore the serious procurement breaches in public institutions.

It would not be out of place then for the government to institute immediate and thorough probe of procurement processes of public institutions across the country, especially those that have found it expedient to merge their procurement units or departments with other units.

When this is done, we are certain the ECG scandal will not be an isolated case.

It is enough red flag to jolt the government into action to prevent such incidents in the future.

The government owes this to both current and future generations, and therefore it should muster the political will to do so.