Bawumia’s Hubtel Invoice in Limbo

Rockson Nelson Dafeamekpor, the Member of Parliament for South Dayi, has joined the growing chorus urging the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) not to approve an invoice totaling Ghc259,819,544.97 submitted by Hubtel.

The payment service company was contracted by the Akufo-Addo government to develop a payments collection app for ECG. Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, Lawyer Dafeamekpor criticized Hubtel’s action as “daylight robbery” and insisted that ECG should not settle the amount demanded in the invoice.

Describing the invoice amount as exorbitant, Dafeamekpor emphasized that the work for which Ghc259,919,544.97 is being requested was already completed by ECG staff. He pointed out, “The demand for Ghc259,919,544.97 for work that was already undertaken by ECG staff is utterly unreasonable.

The ECG app had been created and launched prior to the return of the NPP to power in 2017.” Additionally, Dafeamekpor revealed that sources informed him of Hubtel having received Ghc200m for minor upgrades to the app developed by ECG.

Furthermore, Hubtel has been receiving a 15% share of every transaction processed through the app. Hubtel, which has ties to Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, was controversially contracted by the Akufo-Addo government to deliver a payment app for ECG.

However, ECG employees contend that the app was internally developed, with Hubtel only contributing additional features for which it received a substantial payment of US$12 million, in addition to a commission of 1.9% per transaction. Despite submitting an invoice for nearly Ghc260 million, ECG has dismissed the claim.

The audits conducted by the Auditor General have raised concerns over the payments made to Hubtel, with suspicions of backdated invoices emerging.

Although Hubtel asserts its independence as a private entity, it has been associated with Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia. Earlier this year, Solomon Owusu, a former NPP communicator, alleged that Dr. Bawumia was the owner of Hubtel.