The Mahama government’s obsession with polishing macroeconomic indicators is now exacting a heavy price on critical sectors of the economy. In its latest Implementation Status and Results Report (June 30, 2026), the World Bank downgraded Ghana’s Energy Sector Recovery Programme from “Moderately Satisfactory” to “Unsatisfactory”, citing persistent implementation failures, funding delays and weak government coordination.
The most disturbing revelation is that the Ministry of Finance repeatedly failed to issue Commitment Authorizations, preventing funds from being released for key reforms.
The World Bank cited this problem over and over again as one of the principal reasons the programme has stalled.
Here is the damage caused by the Finance Ministry’s fiscal recklessness:
The programme has officially been downgraded to “Unsatisfactory” by the World Bank.
Instead of reducing the financial burden on the energy sector, the combined financial losses of ECG and NEDCo have surged to approximately US$1.5 billion, instead of falling towards the programme target of US$525 million by the end of 2027.
More than one million smart meters meant for households, government institutions and strategic MDAs could not be installed because the Ministry of Finance repeatedly failed to issue the required Commitment Authorizations.
ECG could not implement its Independent Power Producer invoicing system because the Ministry of Finance failed to authorize the required funding.
The rollout of LPG stove packages to households, schools and caterers stalled because the Ministry of Finance withheld the necessary disbursements.
GRIDCo could not procure consultants to implement the Security Constrained Economic Dispatch system, a reform intended to reduce electricity generation costs, because funding approvals were not granted.
ECG’s planned customer satisfaction survey was delayed because the Ministry of Finance failed to release the required funds.
New procurement directives and disbursement caps imposed by the Ministry of Finance further crippled implementation, leaving several programme targets off track.
While the government boasts about fiscal discipline and improved macroeconomic numbers, it is starving strategic reforms of the very funding needed to sustain those gains.
You cannot claim economic success while withholding funds from programmes designed to stop billions of cedis in losses. The World Bank’s verdict is unequivocal and unambiguous.
This is not merely a financing problem. It is a failure of leadership, prioritisation and execution at the highest levels of government, particularly within the Ministry of Finance.
By José Aguyire Abonenga
