The spectacle of GLICO’s sudden moral awakening regarding the Ghana Gas insurance programme is not an exercise in corporate transparency; it is the desperate gasp of a monopoly losing its grip.
In the high-stakes theatre of energy insurance, where high-value portfolios represent the lifeblood of industry giants, the recent commentary we are witnessing is nothing more than a strategic rearguard action.
The motive is transparent. Facing the imminent loss of underwriting mandates,particularly the VRA accounts they have occupied for eight years without the bruising trial of competition,incumbent insurers have pivoted from service to sabotage.
They seek to poison the well of stakeholder perception, not out of a love for the Ghanaian taxpayer, but out of a terror of the open market.
For nearly a decade, certain players have moved through our energy sector like ghosts in the machine, securing massive accounts through the back door of political patronage and the shadows of non-competitive selection. Yet today, they have the audacity to masquerade as the defenders of industry standards.
Ghana’s Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663), as amended by Act 914, is not a mere suggestion; it is the constitutional bedrock of our public entities. It demands competitive tendering, transparency in evaluation, and, above all, value for money. Ghana Gas, in its recent transition of lead underwriters, chose to honour the law over the legacy of “man-know-man.”
The shift was not arbitrary. It was the product of a rigorous, independent audit conducted by insurance brokers who looked past the prestige of logos to the cold reality of risk alignment.
The result was clear: the new lead underwriter offered demonstrably improved policy terms and a technical sophistication that GLICO simply failed to match.
The current campaign of disinformation is the predictable reaction of an entity that has grown fat on the spoils of exclusivity. It is the fear of the “Pool” drying up.
If GLICO is truly the paragon of procurement virtue they now claim to be, let them answer one simple question: Through which competitive bidding process did they acquire the VRA, GRA, GHAPOHA, and the Ghana Gas Pool accounts? But this rot extends beyond a single firm.
From where I stand, the history of the Ghanaian insurance industry is a chronicle of political interference. Ours is a culture of greed worsened by politicians who viewed state insurance premiums as a private ATM for their business partners.
It is a legacy of avarice that has become the single greatest hurdle to genuine industry growth.
We are currently witnessing a battle between the beneficiaries of a broken system and the architects of a new, transparent order. The incumbents have benefited from the “greedy politician” era for too long to play the victim now.
To those who have dominated the market through the darkness of political influence: your time of unchallenged hegemony is over.
The transition at Ghana Gas is a victory for the rule of law over the rule of the elite. It is a signal that the era of the “political underwriter” is drawing to a close.
The industry does not need more noise from those who were silent when they were winning without merit. It needs problem solvers who are willing to test their mettle in the sunlight of competition.
If you cannot win a mandate on the strength of your clauses and the robustness of your capital, then you have no business occupying the high ground.
Those who seek to preserve the status quo under the guise of concern are merely defending their right to an unearned feast. It is time to let the professionals work. It is time to let the law breath.
To the monopolists and the beneficiaries of patronage: shut up and step aside. Ghana deserves an insurance industry built on competence, not connections.
By Raymond Ablorh
