The Public Utilities Workers Union (PUWU) has firmly rejected proposals to privatise the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), issuing a strong warning that it will deploy all legitimate avenues to resist such a move.
According to the Union, handing over the state power distributor to private entities poses severe risks to the nation’s socio-economic stability.
Addressing members of the press, the General Secretary of PUWU, Timothy Nyame, urged the government to focus on demanding strict accountability and enhanced performance from the current management and board of the ECG rather than ceding control to private investors.
“We are saying that we will use every legitimate means to prevent government from privatizing ECG,” he declared.
To back his argument, Mr Nyame pointed to past arrangements in the utility sector, referencing the management contract with Aqua Vitens Rand Limited (AVRL) under the Ghana Water Company as a clear example of why private sector involvement often fails to yield expected outcomes.
He further explained that transferring a revenue-generating state enterprise to private operators essentially hands over its most liquid asset—cash flow—to private hands, leaving the government burdened with funding capital-intensive infrastructure and operations.
Reiterating its position, PUWU maintained that private sector participation is not a panacea for the operational hurdles facing the power distributor, insisting instead on internal institutional reforms and robust governance structures.
