Mustapha Gbande, Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and Deputy Director of Operations at the Presidency, has launched a blistering counter-attack against the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), accusing them of orchestrating a campaign of misinformation regarding reforms at the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
According to Gbande, the opposition is deliberately distorting the government’s Private Sector Participation (PSP) plan to stir public discontent, noting that such “baseless” claims of privatization are a desperate attempt to manufacture a scandal in an administration that has remained remarkably clean during its first year in office.
“NPP is cooking all of these into public discussions because one year down the line, and still scandals in government have been scanty. You can’t find one. They can’t find one basis on which they will rant and make noise and accuse the government of President John Mahama”
Mustapha Gbande, NDC Deputy General Secretary and Deputy Director of Operations at the Presidency
The issue centers on the Cabinet’s April 2025 approval of a Transaction Advisor to facilitate private sector involvement in ECG’s operational framework. While the government maintains that the objective is to enhance revenue collection and reduce commercial losses, the opposition has framed the move as a fire sale of a national asset.
Yet Gbande argued that this narrative is nothing but a political concoction designed to provide the NPP with “ranting material” before the 2025 calendar year concludes, a rhetoric that suggests that the government views the ECG controversy as a sign of the opposition’s growing irrelevance.
Gbande noted that the transparency of the current administration has left the NPP with few avenues for traditional political attacks. By focusing on the energy sector – a traditionally sensitive area for Ghanaian voters – the opposition is allegedly trying to undermine the President’s efforts to stabilize a utility company that was inherited in a state of severe financial distress.
He maintained that the reforms are not a move toward full privatization but a strategic partnership to inject technical efficiency into the billing and distribution network.
Since January 2025, the Ministry of Energy and Green Transition has reported significant improvements in ECG’s overall performance metrics. However, the Deputy Director of Operations at the Presidency revealed that the company still faces critical financial sustainability challenges that require external technical expertise to resolve permanently.
Addressing Worker Concerns
The political sparring coincides with genuine concerns raised by the Public Utilities Workers’ Union (PUWU). The union has expressed apprehension regarding the selection of the Transaction Advisor, fearing that private sector participation could lead to job losses or a shift in the company’s focus away from public service.
The Ministry of Energy and Green Transition responded to these concerns by clarifying that the PSP is a “broader reform agenda” intended to protect the stability of the entire power sector, rather than compromise the interests of the workforce.
The Ministry’s press release emphasized that the 2025 reform plan was designed to address the persistent commercial losses that have plagued ECG for decades. By improving revenue collection systems, the government expects the utility provider to become self-sustaining, thereby reducing the burden on the national treasury.
Gbande urged the public to view these changes through the lens of accountability rather than partisan rhetoric.
“When we came into power, there were serious issues. The President took the bull by the horns and resolved them. That is what a government should be, and that is what we are doing”
Mustapha Gbande, NDC Deputy General Secretary and Deputy Director of Operations at the Presidency
As the John Dramani Mahama administration concludes its first year, the battle over ECG serves as a proxy for the larger debate on economic management. The NDC remains firm that the “governing for the people” mantra is reflected in its refusal to allow the power sector to collapse under the weight of inefficiency.
Gbande’s remarks suggest that the government is prepared to fight back against what it perceives as the politicization of national issues by an opposition that is currently lacking a coherent policy alternative.
The administration’s stance remains that the PSP model is a transformative tool for modernization. As the selection of the Transaction Advisor proceeds into 2026, the Presidency has vowed to maintain transparency to ensure that the public is not misled by politically motivated narratives.
As Gbande noted, the focus remains on ensuring that the stability of Ghana’s power sector is not compromised by partisan interests.
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