John Mahama
President John Mahama is expected to meet all major players in Ghana’s energy sector for an emergency meeting at the Jubilee House today, the Co-Chairman of the Transition Team sub-committee on Energy and Natural Resources John Jinapor has said.
It comes after Jinapor revealed that Ghana’s fuel stock has been depleted.
“I have bad news for you, just today, the confirmation we are getting is that , we have only 5-hours of fuel stock….”
“And so, in two-days time, we are likely to run out of fuel, this administration has not ordered any fuel as we speak. And it takes on average 4-weeks for the fuel to arrive and 4- weeks for the fuel to be treated,” Jinapor said.
Speaking to Accra-based TV3 on Wednesday(8 January), Jinapor said the meeting will seek to proffer solution to the current challenge.
“The Minister of Energy is attending, the Bulk Energy Storage and Transportation Company Limited (BOST) is attending, Public Utility and Regulatory Commission (PURC) is attending, virtually everybody who matters in the power sector is attending.”
“The objective of the meeting is simple, what do we do,” Jinapor said.
Listen to John Jinapor in the attached audio clip below:
Haunted by incompetence
Meanwhile Former Energy Minister, Herbert Krapa has said Co-Chairman of the Transition Team sub-committee on Energy and Natural Resources John Jinapor is being haunted by lack of competence in managing the power sector.
Krapa In a Facebook post on Tuesday(7 January) denied the claims that Ghana’s fuel stock has been depleted adding that the current administration must work to avert power supply disruption.
“I have read a statement from Hon. John Jinapor (MP), Co-Chairman of the Transition Team sub-committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in which he claims that “massive load shedding looms as Ghana’s fuel stock depletes” and seeks to blame His Excellency President Akufo-Addo and his government for it.
“Mr. Jinapor is wrong. Load shedding does not “loom”. It is caused either by technical or emergency power generation issues or a lack of competence in managing the power sector. Mr. Jinapor seems to be haunted clearly by the latter,” Krapa said.
The former Energy Minister under the NPP government further dismissed claims suggesting the county fuel stock has been depleted.
“By the time of leaving office, President Akufo-Addo’s government left in stock, light crude oil which Cenpower currently generates power with, whilst AKSA continues to take delivery of heavy fuel oil which it generates power with.
“This fact is easily verifiable with a phone call to both power plants. The responsibility of the new administration is to not only procure more liquid fuel to keep the lights on, whenever liquid fuel becomes required to complement gas supply, but also plan competently to avert power supply disruptions. We did it and they can do it too, if they can.”
“The NDC government should get to work as we did, the reason we kept the lights on for eight years, regardless of the difficult times, and stop the needless finger pointing. That is not the way we kept the lights on,” he said.
Below is the full post:
Reporting by Fred Dzakpata in Accra
