Hubtel denies false claims about ECG deal

A claims by some civil society activists and media commentators that Hubtel has been paid an amount of $25 million for the App it developed for revenue collection by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), has been denied by the Ghanaian fintech company which built the ECG Power App.

The management noted that over the past few days, officials of some Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and media commentators have sought to put out false statements about Hubtel’s work at the ECG.

Some of these false statements seem to be designed to totally discredit the work Hubtel has done in the recent transformation and record-breaking achievements in ECG’s revenue collection and commercial operations. Other false statements have also tried to paint the picture that Hubtel is part of a procurement scheme that has received payments for no work done, Hubtel said in a statement.

“Hubtel has NOT been paid $25million,” the company said. “Hubtel has NOT quoted any where that we have received $25million from ECG.”

The company further explained that at the start of the project, $25million was only a figure set out as the cost limit by the Board of Directors of ECG, but with the guidance of Hubtel and other third-party service providers, ECG spent only about $12 million (GHS171 million) out of the $25 million.

It noted that the $12 million was spent on  replacing old and obsolete systems that were causing severe revenue losses and frequent downtimes, and not just on the power app.

“These included the upgrading of ECG’s core databases from Oracle 10G to Oracle 19C, a new balance management and accounting system, hybridization of metering infrastructure, overhaul of staff systems for commercial operations, overhaul of customer self-service systems, overhaul of revenue protection systems and others. The new ECG PowerApp is only one of the cost lines within these expenditure,” the statement said.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the new commercial systems designed, developed, and implemented by Hubtel and other service providers have only been involved in ECG’s operations since March 2023. Therefore, attempts by some CSOs and media commentators to link our work to ECG’s past financial performance and legacy matters are completely misleading. Hubtel remains a company deeply rooted in the ideals of good governance, transparency, and an unyielding determination to contribute to the development of the digital economy in Ghana. We wish to assure the general public that our service at ECG has been guided by these principles at all times.

“We also remain extremely proud that after several initiatives and investments in the past (costing hundreds of millions of US dollars) aimed at improving ECG’s revenues, that Hubtel, a company founded and managed by Ghanaians, possesses the technology and expertise to transform ECG and set it on the path towards commercial profitability at a fraction of the past investments.”

The statement also refuted claims that Hubtel is owned by leading political official.

“At no point since the founding of Hubtel have any of the company’s shares been held or owned, directly or indirectly, by an official of any government institution or any person affiliated with any political party in Ghana. Also, at no point since the founding of the company has it had any contract with the Government of Ghana,” it said.

PRESS RELEASE – CSO False Statements on ECG – Final – v29092024

 

 

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