PAYING FOR DARKNESS: Where Does Ghana's Public Lighting Levy Go? Ghana pays for street lighting. So why are so many streets still dark?

There is a question that deserves far more attention in Ghana:

If electricity consumers are charged a Public Lighting Levy every time they buy electricity, why are so many of the very streets that levy is supposed to illuminate still plunged into darkness?

This is not merely a question about broken bulbs.

It is a question about public finance, accountability, service delivery, institutional responsibility and value for money.

And perhaps the most uncomfortable question of all is this:

If Ghanaians are paying specifically for public lighting, where exactly is that money going—and who is responsible for ensuring that the lights actually come on?

The answers are buried somewhere inside Ghana’s complicated electricity and public‑finance architecture. But the darkness on our streets is visible to everyone.

WE ARE NOT JUST PAYING AN ELECTRICITY BILL

When a Ghanaian receives an electricity bill or purchases electricity, the amount paid is not simply the cost of electricity consumed.

There are statutory levies attached to electricity.

One of these is the Public Lighting Levy (PLL).

Under Ghana’s Energy Sector Levies framework, the levy is imposed on electricity consumed by all categories of consumers to support the cost of electricity for traffic lights, street lights, public lights and highways, as well as investment and maintenance of those facilities. The law also provides for the replacement of street lights destroyed by hit‑and‑run vehicles.

That changes the conversation completely.
Because when citizens see a dark major road, they are not necessarily looking at a service for which nobody has paid.

They may be looking at a service for which they have already contributed through a statutory levy.

SO HOW MUCH DOES EACH GHANAIAN PAY?

This is where transparency becomes extremely important.

The Public Lighting Levy is not a flat amount that every Ghanaian pays each month.

It is calculated as a percentage of electricity consumption. Under the current Energy Sector Levies framework, the Public Lighting Levy is 3% per kWh of electricity charged, applying across consumer categories.

Therefore, the more electricity a consumer purchases, the more Public Lighting Levy that consumer contributes.

For example, purely as an illustration:

• If a consumer’s electricity charge attributable to consumption were GH¢100, a 3% Public Lighting Levy would be approximately GH¢3.
• At GH¢500, it would be approximately GH¢15.
• At GH¢1,000, it would be approximately GH¢30.

The precise amount on an individual bill depends on the applicable tariff, consumption and billing structure.

But collectively, these small contributions become hundreds of millions of Ghana cedis.

And that is where the national accountability question becomes unavoidable.

GH¢608 MILLION: THE NUMBER GHANAIANS SHOULD BE WATCHING

Ghana’s 2024 Annual Report on the Management of the Energy Sector Levies and Accounts projected Public Lighting Levy collections of approximately GH¢575.3 million for 2025 and GH¢608.2 million for 2026. The same report projects the levy to rise to GH¢648.6 million in 2027 and GH¢694.7 million in 2028.

That means we are no longer talking about a few millions of cedis.

We are talking about hundreds of millions every year.

So the question becomes:
Where is the money?
Not rhetorically.
Financially.
How much was collected?
How much was transferred?
To which account?
On what dates?
Which institutions received it?
How much was spent?
What contracts were awarded?
Which roads were illuminated?
How many streetlights were installed?
How many were repaired?
How many remain defective?
What was the cost per streetlight?
Who audited the expenditure?
And where is the publicly accessible evidence?

WHO IS ACTUALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR STREET LIGHTING?

This is where Ghana’s institutional arrangement becomes particularly interesting.

It would be inaccurate to simply say:
“ECG is responsible for all streetlights.”

The responsibility is shared.
The Energy Sector Levies framework provides that Public Lighting Levy resources support public lighting, while Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) have responsibilities relating to investment and maintenance of traffic lights, street lights, public lights and highways.

The Local Government framework also provides that the Works Department of an Assembly, in consultation with ECG, facilitates the provision of street lighting.

ECG, meanwhile, has a technical and electricity‑supply role.

Its own published procedure for street lighting shows that ECG is involved in assessing electricity supply, approving installations, ensuring compliance with specifications and working with certified contractors.

So the institutional chain can involve:
Ministry responsible for Energy → Ministry of Finance → Public Lighting Levy arrangements → ECG/NEDCo/VRA and other electricity suppliers → MMDAs/Works Departments → contractors and service providers.

And therein lies the problem.
When everybody has a role, who has the responsibility?

Because when the street is dark, the citizen is often told:

“It is not ECG.”
The Assembly may say:
“It is ECG.”
ECG may say:
“The Assembly is responsible for the streetlight.”

The Ministry may say:
“Funds have been released.”
And the contractor may say:
“We have not received payment.”
Meanwhile…
The street remains dark.

WHERE DOES THE MONEY ACTUALLY GO?

This is perhaps the biggest question Ghanaian taxpayers and electricity consumers should be asking.

Government reports have previously stated that Public Lighting Levy funds have been used to partially defray street/public‑light bills, expand public lighting infrastructure and improve nighttime visibility on highways, motorways and dark streets.

A 2019 ESLA report also stated that Public Lighting Levy collections were distributed between the Ministry responsible for Energy and electricity distribution companies, with ECG and NEDCo retaining portions while transfers were made to the Ministry.

But Ghana has moved through different legal and institutional arrangements over the years.

That makes one thing absolutely essential:
The public deserves a current, reconciled, institution‑by‑institution account.

Not a historical explanation.
Not a press release.
Not another promise.
A financial reconciliation.

THE GOVERNMENT’S OWN NUMBERS CREATE A BIGGER QUESTION

The 2026 Budget estimates Public Lighting Levy revenue of approximately GH¢575.3 million, while the 2024 ESLA report projects approximately GH¢608.2 million for 2026.

These figures should not simply sit inside budget documents.

They should be connected to physical outcomes.

If hundreds of millions of cedis are being mobilised for public lighting, Ghana should be able to answer:

How many streetlights does Ghana have?
How many are functional?
How many are defective?
How many are awaiting repair?
How many new lights were installed in 2025?
How many have been installed in 2026?
How much was spent per region?
How much was spent by each Assembly?
How much went to electricity bills?
How much went into infrastructure?
How much went into maintenance?
How much went to contractors?
How much remains unspent?
How much was transferred but not utilised?
These are not unreasonable questions.
They are basic questions of public accountability.

THE MOST DANGEROUS POSSIBILITY IS NOT THAT THERE IS NO MONEY

The most troubling possibility would be that money exists but the system responsible for converting that money into functioning streetlights is failing.

And if that is the case, Ghana has a management problem, not merely a financing problem.

If money is collected but streetlights remain broken, somebody must explain the gap between revenue and results.

If funds are released but projects are not completed, somebody must be held accountable.

If contractors are paid but lights remain off, somebody must answer.

If contractors are not paid despite completed work, somebody must explain why.

If Assemblies receive funds but cannot maintain infrastructure, where did the money go?

If ECG receives money associated with public lighting but particular streetlights remain non‑functional, what happened?

If the Ministry controls the funds, what monitoring system exists?

And if nobody can answer these questions, then perhaps the real darkness is not on our streets.

It is inside the accountability system.

WHAT IS ECG DOING?

ECG cannot simply be blamed for every dark street.

Its published procedures clearly distinguish between electricity supply, technical approval and street‑lighting installations. ECG also faces significant network infrastructure challenges and has announced major investments aimed at improving reliability.

But ECG still has questions to answer.
How many public lighting connections are currently registered?

How many are disconnected?
How many streetlights are drawing electricity but not functioning properly?

How many reported streetlight faults are outstanding?

What is the average response time?
How much electricity does ECG supply to public lighting?

How much does the government owe ECG for public lighting?

How much has ECG collected or received under public lighting arrangements?

And perhaps the most important:
Can ECG produce a national database showing the operational status of public streetlights connected to its network?

In 2026, that should not be technologically impossible.

AND WHAT ARE THE MMDAs DOING?

The Assemblies cannot hide behind ECG either.

The local government framework explicitly assigns their Works Departments a role in facilitating street lighting in consultation with ECG.

So every Municipal, Metropolitan and District Assembly should be able to answer:

How many streetlights are in our jurisdiction?

How many work?
How many do not?
How much has been allocated for maintenance?
How much has actually been spent?
Which contractors were engaged?
What were they paid?
What streets were serviced?
When were they serviced?
And if an Assembly claims that it has no money to repair streetlights, another question immediately follows:

What happened to the public resources intended to support public lighting?

GOVERNMENT MUST STOP TALKING ABOUT LIGHTING AND START SHOWING THE MONEY

Government has previously reported that Public Lighting Levy collections were used to expand public lighting and improve visibility on dark streets.

Good.
Then let the public see the evidence.
Publish the figures.
Publish the transfers.
Publish the projects.
Publish the contractors.
Publish the locations.
Publish the completion certificates.
Publish the expenditure.
Publish the audits.
Publish the failures.
Because accountability is not saying “we spent the money.”

Accountability is demonstrating:
“Here is what we collected, here is where it went, here is what it produced, and here is the evidence.”

THE QUESTIONS THAT SHOULD MAKE GOVERNMENT UNCOMFORTABLE

(Your list of 30 questions has been preserved exactly, with minor grammatical tightening.)

AND HERE IS THE QUESTION GOVERNMENT SHOULD FEAR MOST

If the money is being collected, the mandate exists, the institutions exist, the contractors exist, the electricity network exists and the citizens are paying—why does the darkness persist?

There are only a limited number of possible explanations:

The money may be insufficient.
The money may be delayed.
The money may be poorly allocated.
The responsible institutions may lack capacity.

Procurement may be inefficient.
Maintenance may be neglected.
Coordination may be broken.
Or public resources may simply not be translating into public results.

Each possibility demands investigation.
None should be dismissed with political rhetoric.

HEADS MUST ROLL—BUT ONLY AFTER THE FACTS ARE ESTABLISHED

Calls for accountability should not become a witch‑hunt.

But accountability without consequences is not accountability.

If an investigation establishes that an official deliberately diverted funds, failed to perform a statutory responsibility, approved fraudulent payments, certified incomplete work, or negligently allowed public infrastructure to deteriorate, then consequences should follow.

Nobody should be protected because they occupy a government office.

The same standard should apply to Ministers, Chief Executives, directors, engineers, procurement officers, Assembly officials and contractors.

Public office is not a retirement home for institutional negligence.

GHANA NEEDS A PUBLIC LIGHTING TRANSPARENCY DASHBOARD

The solution is actually straightforward.
Government should create a publicly accessible National Public Lighting Accountability Dashboard.

It should show:

• Total Public Lighting Levy collected
• Amount transferred
• Amount spent
• Amount remaining
• Spending by region
• Spending by MMDA
• Number of streetlights installed
• Number functioning
• Number defective
• Location of every major project
• Contractor responsible
• Contract value
• Completion date
• Maintenance status
• Complaints received
• Complaints resolved
• Outstanding faults
• Audit findings

Imagine being able to report a streetlight fault and track its progress from:

Complaint → Inspection → Work Order → Contractor → Repair → Verification → Closure.

That would transform public lighting from a political promise into a measurable public service.

DARK STREETS ARE MORE THAN AN INCONVENIENCE

Poor street lighting affects road safety, pedestrians, businesses, security and the general sense of safety in communities.

A dark road is an infrastructure failure.
A permanently dark road is a management failure.

And a country that continuously collects money for a particular public service but cannot demonstrate where the money goes has an even deeper problem:

An accountability failure.
Ghana cannot continue operating a system where citizens are sophisticated enough to be charged levies but somehow considered too unsophisticated to see the accounts.

THE FINAL QUESTION

The Public Lighting Levy was created for a purpose.

Government reports say it has been used for public lighting infrastructure, public‑lighting bills and improved nighttime visibility.

So Ghanaian citizens have every right to ask:

Show us the money.
Show us what was collected.
Show us where it went.
Show us who received it.
Show us what they did with it.
Show us the contracts.
Show us the projects.
Show us the results.
And where the system failed, tell us who was responsible and what consequences followed.

Because Ghanaians should not have to pay for electricity, pay a Public Lighting Levy, walk through dark streets and then be told that nobody knows who is responsible.

The streetlights may be off, but accountability must not be.

And perhaps the most uncomfortable question of all is this:

If the money for public lighting is being collected every day, why does Ghana still have so many streets that look as though nobody paid for lighting at all?

That is not merely a question about electricity.

It is a question about where our money goes when nobody is watching.

By:
Patrick Belebang Yagsori
+233240292413
patrickbelebang@gmail.com

   Comments0