2,000 ECG containers retrieved; 283 still unidentified at ports – Deputy Energy Minister

Deputy Energy Minister Richard Gyan-Mensah has disclosed that about 2,000 containers belonging to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), which were reported as uncleared at the ports, have been retrieved, while approximately 283 remain unidentified.

He said a committee established to investigate the matter was continuing efforts to trace the outstanding containers, with an official report expected by the end of October 2026.

Mr Gyan-Mensah made the disclosure when he appeared before Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Friday, October 16, to respond to concerns over 2,760 ECG containers cited in the Auditor-General’s report as having remained uncleared at the ports.

“This matter was referred to the Ministry, and it's been handled by the Ministry. As we speak, about 2,000 of the containers have been evacuated and then kept with the Ministry of Energy, some with the ECG warehouse, which we'll send for them,” he said.

The Deputy Minister explained that locating the remaining containers had proved difficult because they were believed to be scattered across different port terminals.

He said the exercise required extensive checks of port records, customs documentation and other relevant information to establish the whereabouts of the outstanding containers.

According to Mr Gyan-Mensah, the retrieval exercise initially made rapid progress, with the team managing to evacuate nearly 50 containers in a day on some occasions.

However, he said the pace had slowed considerably, with instances where only two containers were retrieved in a day and other periods when no containers were recovered throughout an entire week.

The challenges, he indicated, had made it necessary for the committee to intensify its coordination with the relevant agencies and port authorities.

Mr Gyan-Mensah said the committee comprises representatives from the ports, security agencies, ECG, the Ministry of Finance and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).

The committee meets every Monday to assess progress, review available documentation and develop strategies for tracing and retrieving the outstanding containers.

He said the involvement of the various institutions was intended to facilitate the identification of the containers and establish a clearer picture of the situation.

Port authorities are also reviewing their records to help identify containers that the committee has so far been unable to trace.

The Deputy Energy Minister said the Ministry of Energy had not yet issued a formal report on the retrieval exercise but expected to publish one by the end of October 2026.

The report is expected to provide an account of the containers retrieved, those successfully identified and any that remain unaccounted for after the investigation.

Mr Gyan-Mensah said the Ministry would make the outstanding figures official once the committee had completed its checks and established which containers could not be located.

“When we are done and it comes out officially that these numbers are not identified or we're not able to retrieve them, the report to come out,” he said.

The investigation follows concerns raised in the Auditor-General’s report about the 2,760 ECG containers reportedly left uncleared at the ports. The outcome of the committee’s work is expected to provide further clarity on the containers’ whereabouts and the progress made in retrieving them.