ECG container saga: 283 containers still missing after 2,000 retrieved

Deputy Minister of Energy, Richard Gyan-Mensah, has disclosed that about 2,000 containers belonging to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), which were reported to have remained uncleared at the ports, have been retrieved, while efforts are ongoing to locate another 283.

Speaking before Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on October 16, 2026, he said a committee investigating the matter was working to trace the outstanding containers, with an official report expected by the end of October 2026.

The investigation follows concerns raised over 2,760 ECG containers cited in the Auditor-General’s report as having remained uncleared at the ports.

Gyan-Mensah explained that the containers retrieved so far have been moved to the Ministry of Energy and ECG warehouses for safekeeping.

“This matter was referred to the Ministry, and it’s been handled by the Ministry. As we speak, about 2,000 of the containers have been evacuated and then kept with the Ministry of Energy, some with the ECG warehouse, which we’ll send for them,” he said.

He noted that tracing the remaining containers proved challenging because they were believed to be scattered across different terminals, requiring investigators to cross-check port records and customs documentation.

ECG Container Scandal: 1,300 'missing containers' found at Tema Port

According to him, the retrieval exercise initially made significant progress, with the team managing to evacuate nearly 50 containers in a day on some occasions.

However, the pace has since slowed, with the team sometimes retrieving only two containers in a day or none over an entire week.

Gyan-Mensah said the committee comprised representatives from the ports, security agencies, ECG, the Ministry of Finance and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).

He added that port authorities were also reviewing their records to help establish the whereabouts of the outstanding containers.

Gyan-Mensah indicated that the committee would publish its findings once the investigation was completed, including details of any containers that could not be identified or retrieved.

MRA/EB

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