Greater Accra Regional Organiser of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Anthony Nukpenu, has urged the Minister for Energy and Green Transition, John Jinapor, to allow technical experts to address the public on the country’s current power challenges.
Speaking in an interview on Adom FM’s morning show Dwaso Nsem, Mr. Nukpenu said he had heard the Minister would brief the nation later today, but believes political communication alone will not solve the ongoing problems.
“I have heard that the Energy Minister will speak today, but I think the talk he has won’t solve the problem,” he said.
According to him, the Minister should rather present the relevant technical officers and line directors to explain the real causes of the outages and provide timelines for solutions.
“He should parade the line directors and let them speak to the technical issues and give timelines, while ensuring effective monitoring,” he stated.
Mr. Nukpenu argued that politicians often take over the role of technical experts and focus more on rhetoric than practical explanations.
“Most at times, we politicians will take the technical people’s work and come and speak a lot of English, but there are certain technical issues we don’t speak about,” he said.
He also referenced reports that the GRIDCo Chief Executive Officer had been asked to step aside, saying there are still senior officials within the institution who should account for the transmission challenges.
“I have heard that he has asked the GRIDCo boss to step aside, but there are senior members there, so let them come and explain why transmission is facing these faults and give us details and timelines so that consumers can be relieved,” he said.
He warned that if leaders continue to speak without involving the professionals responsible for the work, the problems may persist.
“If you take their issue and come and speak grammar, at the end of the day they will be lackadaisical in their approach to solving the problem, and the solutions will not be fully achieved,” he added.
Mr. Nukpenu said the public needs direct engagement from managing directors, chief executives, and serious technical officers in charge of the sector.
“So today, when he speaks to the nation, he should let us see the MDs, the CEOs, and serious technical officers in charge of the work to give us details. Let’s look at it from that angle, and I think it will relieve all of us because I am really ashamed of this current challenge,” he said.
The Energy Minister, John Jinapor, is expected to address the nation today, Monday, April 27, at 2:00 pm to update the public on recent developments in the electricity distribution sector.
The briefing comes in response to a series of significant events that have raised concerns about the stability and management of the country’s power supply, including the recent fire at the Akosombo Power Control Centre and a leadership shake-up within the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) in the Ashanti Region.
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