Energy Minister Jinapor Rejects Claims of Lamentation, Emphasizes Practical Solutions to Power, Fuel Challenges
The Minister for Energy and Green Transition, John Jinapor, has refuted assertions that he is lamenting over the country’s ongoing power and fuel supply difficulties, insisting that his priority remains finding and implementing practical solutions to address the sector’s challenges.
Mr Jinapor’s comments follow criticism from some energy experts and members of the public, including the Member of Parliament for Walewale, Tia Abdul-Kabiru Mahama, who accused the Minister of deploying “fear tactics” rather than exhibiting decisive leadership.
Speaking during an interview on Monday, May 19, 2025, Mr Jinapor clarified that his recent appearance before Parliament’s Energy Committee was misconstrued, explaining that it was an avenue to present factual updates and propose actionable interventions, not an outlet for expressing frustration.
“I understand grumbling very well, and I don’t think that when you appear before a committee and you present facts, they term that as grumbling. Unless, as a minister, I needed to hide that fact,” Mr Jinapor stated.
The Minister outlined several key interventions currently being pursued by his outfit, including the resolution of a potential shutdown by power producer Karpowership, expansion of generation capacity, and structural reforms aimed at stabilising the energy sector.
“The facts are that Karpowership threatened to shut down, and we resolved the matter; that is not grumbling, that is solving the problem. It is sitting around the table to find the solution,” he explained.
Providing further context, Mr Jinapor noted that the country was experiencing a power generation shortfall of between 70 and 80 megawatts when he assumed office. According to him, that gap has since been narrowed significantly through the commissioning of additional plants and enhanced capacity planning.
“Before the committee, I gave them all the statistics, then I moved on to tell them the challenges and also the moves to solve the challenges. For instance, I told them that we have inaugurated the gas processing committee to come out with how to build the gas processing plants so that we don’t depend on liquid fuel — that is not grumbling, we are solving the problem,” he added.
He also revealed that the Ministry is working on medium- to long-term strategies, including reducing the country’s dependence on liquid fuel by boosting domestic gas processing infrastructure.
“ECG said they want private sector participation. We have inaugurated a committee, and they have done stakeholder consultation. Now we have to move on to implementation — that is not grumbling. It is dealing with the challenges,” he stated.
On fuel stock levels, Mr Jinapor said he had provided Parliament with the latest data and assured that new fuel orders are currently being fulfilled.
“Parliament also wanted the statistics of all our fuel stocks, and I gave them to them. I also went further to say that we have ordered fuel, and we are getting those today, to replace what we have in stock,” he said.
“I didn’t say we will have a challenge, I didn’t say we have a crisis. We are not in crisis, we are doing fairly well. Yes, we have challenges, but that is why we were voted into power — to solve those challenges. If I am putting a solution across, that solution should be dealing with a challenge,” he concluded.
