The Director General of the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA), Professor Michael Kpessa-Whyte, has attributed the Electricity Company of Ghana’s (ECG) current losses partly to governance lapses recorded in previous years.

He, however, expressed optimism that the power distributor could move from making losses to recording profits if current management practices and improving economic conditions are sustained.

Speaking in an interview on Joy FM on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, Professor Kpessa-Whyte said the legacy of past governance challenges continues to affect ECG’s financial position.

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“I believe ECG had suffered some governance lapses in the previous years and the legacy of that continues to beat the institution very badly,” he said.

According to him, ECG has nevertheless made significant progress in reducing its losses and liabilities, a development he believes could put the company on a path towards profitability.

“But you would have noticed that even though ECG recorded losses, they have significantly reduced their losses, significantly,” Professor Kpessa-Whyte stated.

He explained that the reduction in ECG’s liabilities and debts was one of the key factors giving SIGA confidence that the company could improve its financial performance if favourable economic conditions continue.

“We have seen a significant reduction in their liabilities and in their debts. And the quantum reduction suggests that given another opportunity with similar macroeconomic environments, we will be able to see changes,” he said.

Professor Kpessa-Whyte noted that ECG’s management would be better placed to explain the specific measures that have contributed to the improvement, including possible changes in revenue mobilisation and expenditure management.

“It is for the management of ECG to actually speak to the specific mitigations or actions that they may have taken, whether they have broadened their revenue base, whether they have been more prudent with their spending,” he explained.

He also pointed to improvements in the foreign exchange environment as another factor that may have contributed to ECG’s improved performance.

“Of course, we know that Forex also was quite instrumental in the changes we have seen in their performance,” he added.

The SIGA Director General said the authority would continue to assess the performance of state-owned enterprises at the aggregate and sectoral levels rather than speak directly on behalf of individual companies.

“What we don't want to do at SIGA is to speak for each of the entities directly, but to remain at the aggregate and then the sectorial level,” he stated.

Professor Kpessa-Whyte said SIGA’s broader objective was to work with ECG and other state-owned enterprises to improve their financial performance and help move loss-making entities towards profitability.

Prof. Michael Kpessa-Whyte says ECG's current losses are partly a legacy of governance failures over the years, but believes the utility can soon turn the corner if current strong corporate governance and economic stability are sustained.#JoySMS pic.twitter.com/0FkEKL5WBY

— Joy 99.7 FM (@Joy997FM) August 31, 2026