In the wake of disagreements about the government’s decision to impose a new Value Added Tax (VAT) on electricity consumers beyond the lifeline threshold, the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), the implementing agency, has raised concerns about the law imposing the tax.

Although ECG and the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCO) had been directed to implement the tax from January 2024, ECG has said it is yet to implement it. Speaking to Sompa News, the Managing Director of ECG, Samuel Dubik Masubir Mahama, stated that ECG cannot merely respond to the letter from the government especially when there are bottlenecks with the provision in the law that was passed as far back as 2013. According to him, in January 2023, he sought the opinion of ECG lawyers on the provision in the law because he found problems with it.

 “I asked for a legal opinion from the lawyers for ECG, to find out if within the law, this provision is right and in its implementation what it will mean. So let’s not take it for granted that even the company ECG or the government itself is not taking proactive measures to close this gap and find a way out of it.”

The ECG MD is of the view that the letter from the government asking it to implement the tax from January 2024, rather presents an opportunity for further stakeholder engagement on the policy.

 “It’s a directive, but if you are giving a directive and there are bottlenecks, you don’t go implementing a directive that has bottlenecks. Every directive allows for conversations to be had. ECG itself you have to come to ECG to ask ECG how you are going to implement this. There has to be stakeholder engagement, there has to be some form of sensitization so if you call this as a directive to me, I didn’t treat it as a directive", he emphasized. According to him, he’s held further interactions with the Energy and Finance Ministers to look at the law and what needs to be done about it subsequently.

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