ECG Privatization: PUWU opposes gov’t’s decision to appoint transactional advisor

The Public Utilities Workers Union (PUWU), has kicked against the government’s plan to contract a transactional advisor for the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), describing the move as a backdoor to privatization.

The standoff centers on the government’s plans to introduce private sector participation (PSP) to restructure ECG operations, a decision PUWU says is a poorly hidden attempt to privatize the Company, despite assurances from the government dismissing all privatization claims.

During an appearance on Joy News on Monday, December 29, Energy Ministry Spokesperson, Richmond Rockson, firmly defended the government’s position, emphasizing that private sector participants are expected to back ECG’s operations in “difficult areas.”

“The sale of ECG is not on the table; it’s out,” he stated. “What the government’s plan is, is to introduce concessioners to help ECG when it comes to some aspects of its operations which it has had difficulty.”

Rockson described the process as “transparent and in the national interest,” explaining that the transactional advisor’s role would be to examine various issues including assets, structure, and guidelines for the Private Sector Participation framework.

The Energy Ministry spokesperson expressed surprise at PUWU’s public opposition, claiming that the union had not requested any meetings that were denied by the government.

“I am surprised that this is in the media, because at no point in time have they requested a meeting that was declined,” he revealed, “so we should still be back on the table and engage as parties, the door remains open for further engagement.”

Meanwhile, the Deputy Secretary General of PUWU/TUC, Dr. Kwabena Nyarko, strongly criticized the government’s approach, arguing that the appointment of a transactional advisor represents an unnecessary step toward privatization, and suggested that “internal reforms are enough to turn the fortunes of ECG.”

Dr. Nyarko questioned the government’s true motive in pushing for private participants in ECG’s operations, noting that the use of “Private Sector Participation” is merely move designed to avoid backlash.

“The semantics of Private Sector Participation, privatization, they are very familiar to us,” Dr. Nyarko explained. “Governments across the world have tended to change the name from privatization to private sector participation, all to avoid scrutiny and also to avoid the negativity that has come to be associated with privatization.”