Minority’s Demand for John Jinapor’s Resignation “Baseless” – Steve Manteaw Fires Back

Policy analyst and natural resource governance advocate, Dr Steve Manteaw, has dismissed calls for the resignation of the Minister for Energy and Green Transition, John Abdulai Jinapor, describing them as unfounded.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday, April 29, he defended the Minister’s handling of the recent power challenges following the fire incident at the Akosombo facility.

“Calls for Jinapor’s resignation are baseless. The minister has demonstrated enough competence in resolving the challenge,” he stated, pushing back against growing criticism from sections of the political divide.

His comments come amid mounting pressure from the Minority in Parliament, who have demanded broader accountability in the aftermath of the fire at the Akosombo Power Control Centre, which disrupted electricity supply in parts of the country.

The Minister has since directed the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Grid Company, Ing. Mark Awuah Baah, to step aside pending investigations into the incident.

Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, April 28, Deputy Ranking Member on Parliament’s Energy Committee, Collins Adomako-Mensah, argued that responsibility should not be limited to technical officials.

“If any official is to face scrutiny, let that same scrutiny fall on the Energy Minister and the President, for it is their ministry and their policy choices that created the conditions under which critical national infrastructure has been allowed to deteriorate,” he said.

The Minority further contends that long-standing structural issues, including delays in implementing the Energy Sector Recovery Plan and mounting debts to Independent Power Producers, are policy-related and require comprehensive reforms.

They insist that incidents such as the Akosombo fire reflect deeper challenges within the sector that go beyond administrative decisions.