World Bank Warns ECG Debt Could Soar to $9 Billion by 2026

The World Bank Group (WBG) Divisional Director for Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Liberia, Robert Taliercio, has cautioned that the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) is burdened with a huge debt, which, if left unaddressed, could rise to $9 billion by the end of 2026.

He revealed that the WBG’s 9th Economic Update Report on Ghana showed that the state-owned enterprise is projected to record a funding gap of about $2.2 billion by the end of 2025 as a result of the government’s inability to fully implement the Energy Sector Recovery Program (ESRP).

Mr. Taliercio acknowledged that Ghana has made progress in sustaining macroeconomic development over the past decade but still faces significant growth challenges.

Citing a robust economic growth rate of 5.7 percent in 2024, which led to a strong performance in the first quarter of 2025 with a growth of 5.3 percent, as well as the successful completion of the debt restructuring program that reduced 95 percent of public debt to a debt-to-GDP ratio of 70 percent by the end of 2024, he stressed that more must be done to sustain economic progress.

He made these remarks at the launch of the 9th Ghana Economic Update by the WBG in Accra under the theme “Addressing Labour Market Challenges and Opportunities in Ghana’s Economic Landscape.”

The WBG Divisional Director attributed ECG’s financial crisis to non-cost-reflective tariffs, high utility distribution and collection losses, substantial contingent liabilities, and newly accumulated debts to independent power producers in 2024.

The report also touched on the agricultural sector, highlighting fiscal imbalances in the cocoa industry caused by weak cocoa production. According to Mr. Taliercio, the situation poses risks to COCOBOD, which faces financial instability despite high global cocoa prices.

He explained that COCOBOD owes large sums to its suppliers but has struggled to meet its obligations due to its involvement in quasi-fiscal operations beyond its core mandate, further increasing its financial risk.

Mr. Taliercio emphasized that strengthening oversight and accountability in both the energy and agricultural sectors would help Ghana reduce risks and ensure long-term stability.

Providing a background to Ghana’s 9th Economic Update, he noted that this year’s report focused on the labor market, identifying five key challenges. These include insufficient job creation for a growing workforce, with data showing that between 2012 and 2023 the working-age population increased by 2.7 million while net employment rose by only 250,000.

He further explained that weak labor demand in productive sectors has limited job creation in high-productivity areas such as manufacturing and services, forcing many workers into low-productivity sectors and low-quality jobs.

Other challenges, he added, include a mismatch between education and job opportunities, high job mobility with limited upward progression, and persistent disparities faced by women and youth in accessing decent jobs.

He urged Ghana to ensure that economic growth translates into more jobs if the country is to maintain fiscal discipline and advance structural reforms. He also advised targeted interventions in the labor market to tackle unemployment.

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Mr. Taliercio assured that the World Bank would continue to support Ghana in adopting a coordinated, institution-wide strategy to address unemployment, emphasizing the need for integration that prioritizes job creation, economic transformation, and skills development.

Other speakers at the event stressed the importance of equipping students with skills-based knowledge across all levels of education, from basic to tertiary, particularly through vocational and technical training.

By Margaret Esaah Boakye