The energy sector is arguably the most important sector in Ghana's economy; as such, the sector’s minister, John Abdulai Jinapor, who is the Minister of Energy and Green Transition, is expected to be under a lot of pressure, particularly when it comes to keeping the country’s power on.

Jinapor, in just a few months of his reign as energy minister, has made what could be described as controversial pronouncements or actions, which have often led to confusion among stakeholders in the energy sector.

These statements or actions were in relation to the country’s ability to generate power and the country’s power distributor, the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), that either ended up not being true or warranted clarifications.

The minister has been called out for these actions by a faction of the public who have accused him of complaining and shifting blame on issues he has been appointed to fix.

Here are three statements and actions of the minister that ended up being wrong or warranted clarification.

'We have only five hours’ worth of fuel left' - John Jinapor warns of impending 'dumsor'

Even before his appointment as the substantive energy minister, Jinapor, in his role as the transition team lead, warned of an impending power crisis because the outgoing government did not stock up on enough fuel for power supply.

Speaking on the sidelines of the inauguration of John Dramani Mahama on January 7, 2025, as Ghana's president, he said that the country faces a serious energy crisis because it has only five hours’ worth of fuel stock for the generation of power.

"I have bad news for you. As of today, the confirmation we are receiving is that we have only five hours’ worth of fuel stock," he was quoted by myjoyonline.com.

At his vetting as the Minister of Energy and Green Transition, Jinapor insisted that his facts were correct, adding that it was the situation at hand.

"There is nothing to reconcile. I was specific. I said we have five hours of HFO, and it's true, we had five hours of HFO. I said we had zero hours of DFO for Sunon Asogli, and it's true, but I don't develop the headlines. I don't write the stories; the recording is there, and if there is any problem with gas supply, we are going to lose 370 megawatts in five hours' time, which will lead to load shedding, and as far as I'm concerned, that's a fact," he said.

ECG’s containers are missing:

The energy minister, just days after his swearing-in in January, set up a five-member committee to investigate the circumstances surrounding the failure of the ECG to clear over 2,500 containers at the port, which had accumulated demurrage charges amounting to approximately GH¢1.5 billion.

The committee, in its report, claimed that over 1,300 of the uncleared containers had gone missing.

After receiving the report on March 25, 2025, the minister gave the ECG a one-week ultimatum to restructure its procurement unit and address procurement lapses following the disappearance of more than 1,300 ECG containers at the Tema Port.

He went on to say that all persons responsible for the missing containers will be dealt with in accordance with the law.

"These containers cannot vanish into thin air. We will work with the Attorney General's Department and the police to ensure those responsible are held accountable and to recover either the containers or their value," he added.

He even stated that he had intelligence of were some of the supposed missing containers where been kept.

The missing containers sparked worries about potential corruption, smuggling, or poor supply chain management at ECG. It can be recalled that several national security operatives were at places where the contents of the missing containers were supposedly found.

Now it turns out the containers are not missing at all. The energy ministry has said that it has now found more containers than the records it had shown were missing.

The ministry is now saying that it has uncovered 2,637 containers, out of which 2,583 have been found at various terminals of Tema.

We have just 2.6 days of fuel left for power generation - Jinapor:

The latest action the minister took that sparked controversy is his claim that the country had 2.6 days of fuel left for power generation.

Speaking at a meeting with the Parliamentary Select Committee on Energy on May 15, 2025, Jinapor said even though the country had 2.6 days of fuel left, the government had purchased some fuel out of which 450,000 barrels were expected to arrive soon.

His comments led to the Minority Caucus of Parliament castigating him, saying that such public pronouncements risk inciting public panic and could send negative signals to investors and the broader business community.

However, speaking in an interview with Metro TV on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, Jinapor expressed surprise at the conduct of the minority.

He accused the Minority Caucus of setting him up and falsely accusing him of complaining about the challenges at his ministry rather than solving them.

"I am surprised by the Minority. I was in my office working when they invited me to brief them on the state of Ghana's energy situation, the challenges, and what we are doing to address them. As Minister, I obliged. I went to give the briefing, and they brought in the press to cover it. The press reported on it, and now the same Minority is asking why the Minister is talking.

"I did not invite the press, nor was I seeking publicity. They brought the press, and I provided the facts — our debt situation, fuel reserves, generating capacity, and our interventions to address the inherited challenges. In providing the data, I stated that we had two days and six hours' worth of light crude oil for one of the plants. I didn't say there would be load shedding. I didn't say a crisis was imminent. I even mentioned that we had imported 450,000 barrels of light crude oil to supplement our current stock,” he said.

BAI/MA

Watch the latest news in Twi on GhanaWeb TV: