Hon. Moses Asaga appointed as Board Chairman of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC)

The Chief of Staff, Hon. Julius Debrah, who swore in the new Board Chairman, in an address, called for transparency in regulating public utilities, urging the new Board and the Chairman to uphold the principles of the office as they take on their responsibilities.

Hon. Julius Debrah said, “Let me, on behalf of the president of the Republic of Ghana, thank you for agreeing to work hard for him. As you all must be aware, this government is in a hurry, but at the same time, we have to make sure things are done meticulously. We were voted into power to take care of the people’s interest, and as much as possible, we need to have it at the back of our minds.”

Hon. Julius Debrah emphasized that, “His excellency the President of the Republic of Ghana is determined that the energy sector and all other security services discharge excellently, and so he encourages you as much as possible to pay attention and give out your best so that the government will look good, and the people will be satisfied,” he stated.

In his concluding remarks, Hon. Debrah said, “It is the expectation of His Excellency the President that the new Board is expected to strengthen PURC’s oversight role in ensuring affordable, reliable, and sustainable utility services.

Hon. Asaga has a wealth of experience having worked with Daishin Securities & Investments Company, in Seoul, South Korea, as an Economics & Financial Analyst between 1988-1989. He subsequently joined Ecobank Ghana as Assistant Manager/Senior Financial Analyst in the Capital Markets Department between 1990-1992. He was headhunted by the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and appointed as Senior Financial Analyst, Corporate Finance & Counterparty to Chase in London between 1993-1996.

Hon. Asaga gained Managerial skills, executive management leadership skills, boardroom skills, political and economic diplomacy, having served as Chairman of the Board of Ghana Civil Aviation Authority; Board Member, PURC; Board Member, Ghana Commercial Bank, and Board Member, Bank of Ghana

In his political life, Hon. Asaga was a Member of Parliament for Nabdam constituency between 1997-2012 (16 years), Ranking Member for the Parliamentary Select Committee on Mines and Energy, Ranking Member, Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Finance & Economics. He was appointed as Minister for Labour & Social Welfare in 2011. He was appointed as a Deputy Finance Minister, with responsibility for the GRA, Controller, Customs and all revenue agencies, where he was in charge of financial institutions, the banking sector and non-banking financial institutions. At the bilateral level, he was responsible for the African Development Bank, Exim Bank, Arab Bank, DFIs, etc., between 1997-2000. He was also the chairman of the PURC Technical Committee, and was later appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Petroleum Authority, from 2013-2017.  During his tenure as CEO of NPA, he supervised, packaged and managed the successful implementation of the Petroleum Price Deregulation introduced by President John Dramani Mahama in 2015/16.

Hon. Asaga holds a BSc Industrial Chemistry from the University of Science & Technology (UST) Kumasi, MSc Petroleum Geology Reservoir Management, University of Aberdeen, Scotland, MBA Finance, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea, MPhil Financial Economics, Durham University, UK.

The PURC Management and Staff extend their support and commitment to Hon. Moses Asaga, the Board and the President's vision for the electricity, water, and natural gas sectors of Ghana. We look forward to an all-inclusive and transformative tenure under your leadership.