SIGA: Ghana ECG GH¢82.31bn Liabilities in 2025 Report

• The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) recorded GH¢82.31 billion in liabilities for the 2025 financial year, according to the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA).
• This figure represents a substantial portion of the total GH¢281.99 billion in liabilities held by all Ghanaian state-owned enterprises.
• SIGA's 2025 State Ownership Report identified ECG as one of five SOEs that consistently incurred losses from 2021 to 2025.
• Despite an overall return to profitability for the SOE sector, SIGA cautioned that significant financial risks remain concentrated in a few key entities.
• The report advocates for stronger accountability, disciplined capital allocation, and decisive intervention in consistently underperforming state enterprises.

The State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA) cautioned that this broader recovery should not overshadow the persistent financial vulnerabilities, negative equity, and governance deficiencies still plaguing a select group of state-owned entities.

The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) accumulated substantial liabilities totaling GH¢82.31 billion during the 2025 financial year, according to the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA). This significant figure was detailed in SIGA’s 2025 State Ownership Report, which was publicly released on Sunday, August 30, 2026. The report highlighted that ECG's debt alone constituted a considerable portion of the overall GH¢281.99 billion in liabilities held by all state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in Ghana for that period.

SIGA's findings underscore the persistent financial challenges faced by the power distributor. The report identified ECG as one of five state-owned entities that consistently recorded financial losses across every financial year from 2021 through 2025. This consistent underperformance places the Electricity Company of Ghana debt at the forefront of Ghana's public sector liabilities, signaling a critical area of concern for the nation's economic stability.

Furthermore, the 2025 State Ownership Report Ghana indicated that ECG, alongside the Volta River Authority and COCOBOD, were primary drivers behind a 5.86 percent reduction in the total assets of state-owned enterprises, which collectively decreased to GH¢407.84 billion in 2025. This data from the State Interests and Governance Authority ECG report paints a clear picture of the substantial impact ECG's financial position has on the broader state-owned sector.

In contrast to ECG's specific challenges, the wider state-owned enterprise sector in Ghana experienced a notable turnaround during the 2025 financial year. Total revenue for SOEs saw a robust increase of 28.12 percent, climbing from GH¢137.64 billion in 2024 to GH¢176.43 billion in 2025. This positive shift marked the end of four consecutive years of consolidated net losses for the sector.

The collective efforts of Ghana's SOEs culminated in a net profit after tax of GH¢19.80 billion in 2025, a significant improvement from the GH¢2.25 billion net loss recorded in the preceding year. Profit before interest and tax also rose substantially to GH¢25.49 billion, continuing a recovery trajectory from a GH¢502 million loss in 2023 and a partial rebound to GH¢5.80 billion in 2024. This sector-wide improvement was partly bolstered by the appreciation of the Ghanaian cedi, which contributed to net foreign-exchange earnings of GH¢11.72 billion, reversing a GH¢12.01 billion foreign-exchange loss from 2024, while finance costs simultaneously decreased by 42.49 percent.

Despite the encouraging overall performance of the state-owned sector, SIGA issued a strong caution against complacency. The State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA) flagged persistent financial risks, emphasizing that the sector's general recovery should not overshadow the entrenched issues of persistent losses, negative equity, and governance weaknesses affecting a subset of entities. This highlights Ghana SOE financial risks that remain concentrated in specific areas.

Beyond ECG, other entities consistently operating at a loss from 2021 to 2025 included Ghana Cylinder Manufacturing Company Limited, GNPA Limited, Graphic Communications Group Company, and Ghana Digital Centres Limited. Furthermore, six state enterprises, among them AirtelTigo Ghana Limited, GIHOC Distilleries, and Tema Oil Refinery, maintained negative equity throughout the entire five-year period from 2021 to 2025, indicating deep-seated financial instability. The report also noted a 29.36 percent decline in dividend payments by SOEs to the government, with only Ghana Reinsurance Company Limited and TDC Company Limited contributing a combined GH¢16 million in dividends in 2025. These figures underscore the ongoing Ghana public sector liabilities and the uneven financial health across state-owned entities.

Prof Michael Kpessa-Whyte, the Director-General of SIGA, articulated that the 2025 State Ownership Report is intended to foster informed public discourse regarding the future and operational effectiveness of state entities. He stressed its role in illustrating how these specified entities contribute to the nation's broader economic reset agenda, thereby facilitating meaningful dialogue about their potential as catalysts for economic growth and development. The report explicitly states that the positive financial outcomes of 2025 must evolve into a sustainable foundation for a more efficient, competitive, and inclusive state-owned sector that consistently generates value for Ghanaian taxpayers.

To achieve this, SIGA's report advocates for crucial reforms, including stronger accountability mechanisms, more disciplined capital allocation strategies, and decisive interventions in entities that have demonstrated consistent underperformance. The continued financial challenges, particularly the Ghana ECG GH¢82.31bn liabilities SIGA 2025 report highlights, suggest that stakeholders with exposure to these entities, especially the Electricity Company of Ghana, should closely monitor for potential government interventions, restructuring efforts, or increased regulatory scrutiny. Such developments could significantly impact contractual obligations, payment schedules, and investment strategies, necessitating proactive risk assessment.

Lawyers advising clients with exposure to Ghanaian State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), especially ECG, should monitor for potential government interventions, restructuring, or increased regulatory scrutiny due to persistent financial risks. This situation could impact contractual obligations, payment schedules, and investment strategies related to these entities, necessitating proactive risk assessment and client advice.

Source: Reporting from Albert Kuzor / Carbonatix