The Auditor-General has uncovered financial irregularities at the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), revealing that the company's management spent millions of cedis on multiple expenditure items in the 2023 financial year without the approval of its Board of Directors.

The findings are contained in the Auditor-General's report on ECG's 2023 accounts.

At a recent sitting of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC), the committee's Ranking Member, Samuel Atta Mills, said the report showed ECG overspent its approved budget on several expenditure items, with some exceeding their allocations by tens of millions of cedis.

The report highlighted the following budget overruns:

- Foreign training: Budgeted at GH¢31 million; actual spending GH¢91 million; excess spending GH¢60 million.

- Cleaning expenses: Budgeted at GH¢2.8 million; actual spending GH¢10.4 million; excess spending GH¢7.6 million.

- Honorarium expenses: Budgeted at GH¢3.8 million; actual spending GH¢4.6 million; excess spending GH¢0.8 million.

- Hotel expenses: Budgeted at GH¢9.3 million; actual spending GH¢12.2 million; excess spending GH¢2.9 million.

- Staff fuel: Budgeted at GH¢2.8 million; actual spending GH¢3.6 million; excess spending GH¢0.8 million.

- Communication expenses: Budgeted at GH¢4.2 million; actual spending GH¢7.9 million; excess spending GH¢3.7 million.

- Consultancy: Budgeted at GH¢40 million; actual spending GH¢58.6 million; excess spending GH¢18.6 million.

- Industrial relations: Budgeted at GH¢2 million; actual spending GH¢13 million; excess spending GH¢11 million.

- Stakeholder expenses: Budgeted at GH¢3.1 million; actual spending GH¢49 million; excess spending GH¢45.9 million.

- Publicity: Budgeted at GH¢5.7 million; actual spending GH¢21.8 million; excess spending GH¢16.1 million.

- Professional fees and subscriptions: Budgeted at GH¢731,000; actual spending GH¢1.5 million; excess spending GH¢769,000.

Overall, the 11 expenditure items had a combined budget of GH¢105.431 million, but ECG spent GH¢273.6 million, resulting in an overall overspend of GH¢168.169 million.

According to the Auditor-General's report, the expenditures were incurred without the requisite approval of ECG's Board. The findings were highlighted during the Public Accounts Committee's examination of the company's audited accounts.