ECG’s missing containers: Cables were auctioned at ridiculous prices – Energy Minister laments

Energy Minister John Abdulai Jinapor has exposed a deep-rooted scandal involving the illegal sale and auction of ECG-owned containers, calling for immediate reforms to stop what he describes as an “unacceptable” pattern of mismanagement.

In a shocking revelation, Jinapor stated that high-value ECG cables, which were imported with taxpayer money, were auctioned at ridiculously low prices without any proper competitive process.

“When there is an auction, and you said some of these containers belonging to ECG, which was imported with the taxpayers’ money, were auctioned at ridiculously low prices, which you have noticed now. Can such an auction of the ECG’s containers at the ports be done without the knowledge of, for instance, the managing director?” he questioned on The KeyPoints on March 29

He explained that under normal circumstances, auctions are done when goods are confiscated or forfeited.

However, he argued that essential public assets like ECG cables should never have been sold off.

“I thought that for such high-value items, the first step would have been that the state could have taken it, given it to the Ministry of Energy, and we’d use it for rural electrification,” Jinapor stated.

The Minister highlighted that government funds are regularly spent on purchasing new cables for electrification projects, making the auctioning of existing ECG-owned cables even more questionable.

“This same government spends money to buy these cables for rural electrification. And secondly, some of these items are only for one purpose. So, if you take cables, they are for the extension of electricity and nothing else,” he emphasized.

According to Jinapor, auctioning such vital materials only benefits illegal smelting factories that melt the cables into aluminium rods, defeating the purpose of their initial procurement.

“If you go and auction them, it will end up in these aluminium factories where they will melt them at very ridiculous prices,” he revealed.

The Energy Minister strongly condemned the lack of transparency in these auctions, insisting that they should be conducted competitively and with public notice.

“Auctions traditionally ought to be done through a competitive process, not through sole sourcing once again. An announcement ought to be made, and the government ought to give notification for everybody to participate,” he stressed.

To address the situation, Jinapor assured that the National Security Coordinator is already securing all the remaining containers.

“We are securing all the containers, and then we will sit with GRA, GHAPOHA, and government and have a structured payment plan,” he stated.

Instead of issuing new contracts to procure more cables, the Minister proposed a cost-saving solution that would allow the state to recover these auctioned cables and put them to their intended use.

“Instead of the Ministry of Energy now awarding another contract to buy cables, why don’t we take these cables and then apply our budget to pay for the duties and other related costs?” he suggested.

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