Minority Leader and former Board Chairman of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has called on state investigative institutions to question the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) over the disappearance of some 1,320 containers belonging to ECG.
Several state officials and analysts have linked the Minority Leader to the missing containers saga due to his former role as Board Chairman of ECG. They argue that he should be held accountable and interrogated.
In response, Afenyo-Markin has vehemently denied any responsibility for the missing containers, arguing that the containers were under the custody of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority and not ECG. According to him, ECG should sue the GPHA over the issue.
“If containers are missing at the port, it is not the responsibility of the ECG board or management. It is the responsibility of the port authorities because they are the custodians of the containers. So, if they go missing, ECG must sue the ports.”
“The state’s investigative agencies and national security should question the port authorities. But to suggest that the board chairman should answer for a container brought in by an importer and placed under the port’s custody is misguided,” he stated
Afenyo-Markin also revealed that he advocated for a change in ECG’s procurement policy, where suppliers’ responsibilities ended at the port upon submission of the bill of lading, a policy he opposed.
He noted that, as a businessman, he identified flaws in this practice and recommended a shift where suppliers’ duties would terminate only after delivery to ECG’s warehouses.
According to him, this proposal is captured in the board meeting minutes dated October 28, 2024. He assumed the role of Board Chairman in July 2024, following the resignation of his predecessor, Herbert Krapah, who served from April 9, 2024.
“When ECG awarded contracts to suppliers or vendors, the policy was that the supplier would deliver to the port, submit the bill of lading, and then claim payment. This policy has existed for years. But at my first board meeting, I said no! I’m a businessman. If ECG awards a contract that ends at the port, ECG will lose.
So I proposed that ECG’s contracts should end only upon delivery to our warehouses. The board minutes reflect this intervention under my leadership,” he said
Meanwhile, President Mahama, during the May Day celebrations, affirmed that ECG will not be privatised. This comes amid growing concern over the company’s inefficiencies, including the disappearance of more than 1,300 containers. So far, 40 of these containers have reportedly been traced to a warehouse owned by a Chinese national at Kpone, near Tema. Authorities have made a few arrests in connection with the matter.