The Member of Parliament for Yapei Kusawgu, John Abdulai Jinapor, who was co-opted into a technical committee under the Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee of the Transition Team has alleged that, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government kept information about the availability of fuel to power energy generation away from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) team until the final notes.
He claimed that the lack of this early warning signal about fuel shortages is why the NDC team was unable to act upon it.
He claimed that his limited role and late inclusion in the process prevented earlier intervention.
He was speaking in an interview with Joy FM on Wednesday morning [December 8, 2024].
Mr Jinapor clarified that he was not an original member of the main transition committee but was later co-opted into a technical committee under the Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee.
“By the time they had done all this, we were around December 30, and then they gave us the handing over notes,” Mr Jinapor explained, detailing how his team discovered the fuel stock issues while reviewing these documents.
According to Mr Jinapor, an emergency meeting was convened approximately two weeks before the handover after his team identified the fuel shortage risks.
He said the outgoing administration had assured the West African Gas Pipeline Company (WAPCo) about fuel procurement but failed to follow through.
“The [Energy] minister [Herbert Krapa] assured us that right after the meeting, they were going to take steps to procure the fuel,” Mr Jinapor stated, explaining why he initially remained quiet about the situation.
“In the energy sector, you ought to be cautious with how you manage information.”
This explanation comes amid conflicting claims about Ghana’s fuel reserves, with former Energy Minister Herbert Krapa maintaining that adequate fuel stocks were left by the previous administration, while Jinapor warns of critical shortages that could lead to power outages.
Mr Jinapor defended his recent public statements about the fuel situation, stating, “I do not regret putting the facts out before President Mahama assumed office,” though these warnings came after the period when fuel orders could have been placed.
