Accra, September 9, 2026 ,the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has challenged the government’s distinction between Private Sector Participation (PSP) and privatisation in its proposed restructuring of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), insisting that the planned arrangement effectively amounts to privatisation.
The union’s position has intensified an ongoing disagreement with the government over plans to introduce private-sector involvement in Ghana’s electricity distribution system.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Top Story on Tuesday, September 8, Deputy Secretary-General of the TUC, Dr Kwabena Nyarko Otoo, argued that privatisation should not be defined solely as the outright sale of state-owned assets.
According to him, the transfer of control over the operations of a state-owned company can also constitute privatisation, even where the government retains formal ownership of the underlying assets.
“Government said that it is doing PSP, private sector participation. And we say that PSP and privatisation are one and the same,” Dr Otoo said.
His comments come after government officials repeatedly maintained that the proposed PSP arrangement for ECG does not amount to privatisation because the state does not intend to transfer ownership of the company or its assets to private operators.
Government maintains PSP is not privatisation
The Energy Ministry has defended the proposed arrangement, arguing that the key difference between PSP and privatisation is ownership.
The Ministry’s spokesperson and Head of Communications, Richmond Rockson, said government has no intention of transferring ownership of ECG or the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo) to private operators.
He explained that while privatisation involves the transfer of ownership, private-sector participation can involve private operators taking part in specific aspects of a company’s operations without acquiring ownership of the company itself.
“It’s not semantics. When you talk about privatization, privatization involves transfer of ownership. When it comes to PSP, it is not necessarily a transfer of ownership,” Mr Rockson said.
According to the Energy Ministry, Cabinet approved the government’s position in April 2025, with the stated intention of retaining ownership of ECG and NEDCo while allowing private-sector participation in aspects of their operations.
The Ministry has also said it will continue engaging organised labour on the proposal and does not want the disagreement to develop into a confrontation.
TUC questions the effect on ECG
For the TUC, however, the government’s assurance that ECG’s physical assets will remain state-owned does not resolve the union’s fundamental concern.
Dr Otoo argued that if a private operator is given significant control over the distribution function, ECG could effectively be reduced to an entity that manages assets while the private company assumes operational control.
He questioned what would remain of ECG’s traditional role if a private company were responsible for distributing electricity using infrastructure that remains formally owned by the state.
The union is therefore concerned not only about ownership of ECG’s assets but also about who controls and operates the electricity distribution system.
Dr Otoo said the union’s concern is that ECG could effectively become an asset-management entity, while a private company takes over the operational role that ECG and its workers have historically performed.
TUC also challenges World Bank position
The dispute has also brought the TUC into disagreement with the World Bank, which has been associated with the proposed private-sector participation programme.
The TUC recently rejected the World Bank’s description of the proposed PSP arrangement as involving mainly revenue collection.
The union argued that this characterisation does not accurately reflect the model proposed by the transaction adviser appointed in connection with the programme.
According to the TUC, the proposed arrangement goes beyond revenue collection and could result in private operators playing a broader role in the management and operation of electricity distribution.
The union has therefore warned that it will resist what it considers an attempt to privatise Ghana’s electricity distribution sector.
Labour threatens resistance
The TUC has indicated that it is prepared to use all legitimate means available to organised labour to oppose the proposed arrangement if its concerns are not addressed.
Dr Otoo, however, clarified that the union’s reference to using “legal action” should not necessarily be interpreted as an intention to immediately take the government to court.
He explained that organised labour has several established industrial-relations mechanisms at its disposal and that these could be used to advance the union’s position.
“The TUC is not in the business of going to court to force government to do something. It is our traditional industrial relations tools, which everybody knows of,” he said.
The clarification leaves open the possibility of further labour action should negotiations fail to resolve the disagreement.
ECG workers and consumers at the centre of debate
The disagreement comes amid wider concerns about the future of ECG, including the company’s operational efficiency, revenue collection, financial sustainability and the reliability of electricity distribution.
The Public Utility Workers’ Union (PUWU), an affiliate of the TUC, has previously opposed the introduction of private-sector participation into ECG and NEDCo.
The union has pointed to improvements recorded under an ECG turnaround programme as evidence that the company can be strengthened through public-sector reforms rather than private-sector control.
PUWU has cited an increase in ECG’s monthly revenue during the turnaround period as one of the gains achieved under the programme and has argued that the focus should remain on improving management and operational efficiency.
The TUC has also expressed concern about the potential implications of private-sector participation for workers’ job security and the cost of electricity to consumers.
Calls for greater transparency
Beyond the TUC and government’s positions, energy-sector stakeholders have called for greater transparency and consultation before any final arrangement is implemented.
The Institute for Energy Security (IES) has urged government to ensure that the proposed PSP arrangement is subjected to proper scrutiny and that stakeholders, including ECG workers and consumers, are adequately consulted.
IES Senior Research and Policy Analyst Prosper Boahene said lessons from the previous Power Distribution Services (PDS) arrangement should inform any new attempt to introduce private participation into ECG.
The PDS experience remains a significant reference point in Ghana’s debate over private participation in electricity distribution, particularly because the earlier arrangement was terminated after concerns emerged surrounding the validity of the guarantees associated with the transaction.
Government pledges continued engagement
Despite the disagreement, the Energy Ministry says it will continue engaging the TUC.
Richmond Rockson said government recognises the TUC as an important stakeholder in the energy sector and wants discussions to continue in good faith.
The government is therefore expected to maintain consultations with organised labour as it works towards determining the structure and implementation of the proposed PSP arrangement.
For the TUC, however, the central issue remains whether the proposed arrangement represents a genuine form of private-sector participation without surrendering control of ECG’s distribution operations, or whether it amounts to privatisation under another name.
Until that question is resolved, the disagreement between government and organised labour is likely to remain a major issue in Ghana’s electricity-sector reform debate.
The Energy Ministry maintains that ECG and NEDCo will remain state-owned, while private-sector participation would be limited to operational areas under the proposed arrangement. The TUC, on the other hand, maintains that transferring substantial operational control to private operators would effectively constitute privatisation, regardless of who legally owns the assets.
SEIDU HUBEIDATU