Energy Minister John Abdulai Jinapor says he fully understands the frustration Ghanaians feel when power goes off, and he is taking responsibility for it.
In an interview on Joy News’ PM Express on Wednesday, April 30, the minister opened up about the growing public anger over the recent erratic power supply, describing it as one of the most pressing challenges of his office.
“If the roads are bad, people are unhappy. If water does not flow, people are unhappy. But the night, when the lights go out, people get very upset and angry. That’s what I’ve seen,” Jinapor said.
He admitted that the country’s energy challenges did not start with him, but he’s not passing the blame.
“That is one of the major problems, and it’s something we inherited as well,” he said.
Jinapor pointed to power deficits that occurred even before the change in government.
“As far back as December, when we’re about going into the election, and that was the last month of the NPP administration, they were shedding about 500 megawatts of power.”
According to him, 2024 was riddled with load shedding.
“Virtually every month, not virtually—every month, there was load shedding to the extent that it got so heated, the then minister came under fire.”
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Still, Jinapor made it clear that excuses won’t fix the lights.
“As minister, even when ECG commits a mistake, nobody knows the ECG MD. When PURC commits some mistake or they do something, nobody even knows who the Executive Secretary is. The same with Energy Commission, the same with GRIDCo and VRA.”
“What they know is that there’s a minister appointed by the President to superintend over the sector. And legitimately so, the people of Ghana would always hold the Minister responsible.”
“By that, I take full responsibility.”
And not just responsibility. Accountability.
“By extension, the president will hold me accountable if something happens.”
Pressed on whether the public perception of success boils down to just “lights on or off,” Jinapor didn’t shy away.
“That is very true. Because Ghana’s power sector has been quite checkered, and it’s been very difficult.”
He reflected on his long journey in the energy sector.
“I’ve been deputy minister before. I virtually acted before in this sector. And now I’m substantive minister. And so I understand the enormity of the challenge.”
“It is not easy,” he added.
But he says he was chosen for a reason.
“President Mahama chose me as Minister because he thinks and he believes I can do this work.”
“And so I am determined to do whatever it takes, as Minister, to improve the sector and ensure that by the time I leave office, this sector will have been much, much better than I inherited.”
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