Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has responded to recent criticism from Dr. Charles Wereko-Brobbey, who accused him of poor leadership during his time as Board Chair of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
Dr. Wereko-Brobbey, an energy expert and former CEO of the Volta River Authority (VRA), claimed in an interview with TV3 that Afenyo-Markin failed to account for his stewardship of ECG, a company which reportedly incurred significant losses under his watch.
The remarks came after the Ghana Revenue Authority announced that the amended Energy Sector Levies Act, 2025, will take effect on July 16, 2025. Prior to this confirmation, Afenyo-Markin had criticized the government for what he called a reversal of its tax policy.
“You presented your budget saying you are not going to introduce new taxes and levies, then you turn and say you are repealing the e-levy—but now you are bringing it back. This is not what Ghanaians voted for,” he stated.
In response, Dr. Wereko-Brobbey described Afenyo-Markin’s comments as hypocritical, arguing that he must first explain ECG’s financial troubles during his leadership.
“The minority in Parliament should shut up. The problems we are facing are largely due to their failure or irresponsible acts while in government. Afenyo-Markin should account for ECG’s huge losses in 2023/2024. If he can do that, maybe we will start listening to him,” he said.
He further accused the minority of trying to re-litigate the 2024 elections, claiming they aim to take credit for the current administration’s achievements.
In a formal statement, Afenyo-Markin called the accusations “most unfortunate.”
“Dr. Wereko-Brobbey sought to implicate my leadership at ECG. While I welcome scrutiny and respect his right to express views, I find it necessary to correct several factual inaccuracies. Your comments are unfortunate and do not reflect the spirit of constructive national discourse. If you possess evidence, I challenge you to present it publicly,” he wrote.
He clarified that he was appointed as ECG Board Chair on July 16, 2024, and sworn in the following day. His tenure lasted until January 2025.
“The first board meeting I presided over was on July 31, 2024. Any attempt to link me to ECG’s 2023 losses is misleading and factually inaccurate,” he said.
“Since assuming the role, I led key reforms, including a shift in ECG’s procurement and contract management practices to reduce financial risk.”
The full statement from Minority Leader, Afenyo-Markin below:
My attention has been drawn to remarks by Dr. Charles Wereko-Brobbey, a former Chief Executive Officer of the Volta River Authority (VRA), during an interview on the TV3 network. In his commentary concerning the performance of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the energy sector, Dr. Wereko-Brobbey sought to—quite regrettably—implicate my leadership at ECG. While I welcome constructive scrutiny and fully respect his rights to express his views, I find it necessary to correct several factual inaccuracies and clarify the misleading claims he made.
First, it must be clearly stated that I was not the Chairman of the ECG Board in 2023, as Dr. Wereko-Brobbey suggested. I was appointed by His Excellency President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on 16th July 2024, and officially sworn in as Board Chairman of ECG on 17th July 2024.
The first board meeting I presided over was on 31st July, 2024, and my tenure lasted approximately six months, ending in January 2025. As such, any attempt to link my leadership to events or decisions prior to that time—or to attribute ECG’s financial challenges in 2023 or early 2024 to my leadership—is misleading. Dr. Wereko-Brobbey’s claim that I must account for ECG’s “huge losses” in 2023 and 2024 is therefore, respectfully, misleading, unsupported, and factually inaccurate. Since assuming the role of Board Chairman, I led several reforms aimed at streamlining ECG’s operations and reducing losses.
At my very first board meeting, as the minutes would reflect, I led the Board to implement a major policy shift in ECG’s approach to procurement and contract management. For years, ECG operated under a system where vendors delivering items to the ports would hand over the Bill of Lading to ECG without rigorous tracking or validation of the items. This resulted in lapses in oversight, exposing ECG to substantial financial risk.
I immediately abolished this outdated model and replaced it with a transparent, accountable procurement system where payment is made only after verified delivery of goods at ECG’s own facilities. This reform saved the Company significant costs and was a key part of my broader strategy for restructuring and accountability.
Secondly, I directed Management to vigorously pursue the Loss Reduction Programme introduced by former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. This initiative was aimed at tackling the systemic revenue losses plaguing ECG—particularly those arising from obsolete and malfunctioning meters. Many of ECG’s installed meters had expired, leading to widespread inaccuracies and inefficiencies in billing. In addition, many communities were still without prepaid metering systems.
As Board Chair, I prioritised the modernisation of ECG’s metering infrastructure, expanding prepaid metering coverage and closing the loopholes that enabled non-technical losses. These were interventions designed to improve revenue efficiency.
It is also worth noting that during my tenure, Independent Power Producers (IPPs) received the highest cumulative payments in recent years. These were all part of my broader vision to tackle the systemic structural inefficiencies at ECG—a vision that was fully endorsed by former President Akufo-Addo.
Let me reiterate that my approach to reforms at ECG has never been anchored in tariff increments or new levies. I have consistently advocated for responsible cost-saving reforms rather than burdening the Ghanaian consumer with new taxes and levies. The solution lies in bold, non-partisan structural reforms that cut waste, seal revenue leakages, and streamline operations.
Those are the sustainable solutions to the energy sector’s problems. Tariffs, when necessary, must be justified by efficiency, not imposed to cover mismanagement. That is why I have publicly opposed the recent 1 cedi Energy Sector Levy per litre of petroleum at the pump, arguing that ECG’s problems are rooted in systemic inefficiencies, not revenue shortfalls.
Again, that is why I have criticised the recent tariff adjustments under the current NDC administration—first, the 14.75% electricity tariff increase on 3rd May 2025, followed by a 2.45% increase effective 1st July 2025—resulting in a total increment of 17.2% in just six months.
It is instructive to note that during my tenure as ECG Board Chair, I was presented with reports showing that less than 30% of consumers pay for electricity consumed, with the rest lost to inefficiencies, illegal connections, and poor billing systems.
It is therefore misguided to resort to frequent tariff hikes or new levies without fixing these deep-rooted inefficiencies. These are the real inefficiencies we must address. Without meaningful reforms, no amount of revenue generation through levies will resolve the challenges ECG faces.
This is why I find it disingenuous for anyone to ignore these efforts and instead seek to distort the facts for political effect. I am on record—both within and outside Parliament—advocating that the way forward for ECG is through national dialogue on structural reforms, not partisan blame games.
Having laid these facts, I acknowledge the important reforms my predecessors initiated—especially in digitising ECG’s revenue collection systems and introducing the early phases of the Loss Reduction Programme. My role was to build on their work, which I did to the best of my ability within my brief tenure.
And so, to Dr. Wereko-Brobbey: I welcome dissenting views, but same must be grounded in verifiable facts. Your comments are unfortunate and do not reflect the spirit of constructive national discourse. If you possess evidence to substantiate your claims, I challenge you to present it publicly. Until then, I will remain focused on advocating for non-partisan reforms at ECG that deliver value to the Ghanaian people through improved service delivery and greater efficiency in the energy sector.
Source:Fiilafmonline/3News
