The minority in Parliament has outrightly rejected explanation by government that recent power outages are due to system upgrade and GRIDCO fire disaster in Akosombo. Minister for Energy and Green Transition John Jinapor yesterday in a media address related to load shedding of over 700MW due to the fire outbreak which knocked off 6 generation units. He also related to change of transformers by ECG to upgrade the distribution lines. But in a sharp rebuttal former deputy Energy Minister Collins Adomako Mensah accused the Mahama administration of failing to invest in the sector for the past 14 months. Mr. Mensah also cautioned government against scapegoating ECG staff instead of taking responsibility for the current crisis.
“The lights are out because this government failed to implement the recovery plan it inherited, not because of engineering schedules,” the Minority said, rejecting government explanations linking outages to transformer upgrades, planned maintenance and fire incident at GRIDCO transmission site in Akosombo.
According Mr. Mensah the outages predate the incident at Akosombo on 23rd April 2026. “The lights were already going out across Ghana before anything happened at Akosombo. They were going out because this government let the sector decay,” it said
The minority consequently made demands on the government is addressing the current challenges:
1. Implement the ESRP without further delay: The Energy Sector Recovery Programme must be “fully and faithfully implemented” with a public timeline verified by independent parties. “Every further week of delay deepens the financial deterioration that is producing the operational failures Ghanaians are experiencing,” the statement said.
2. Clear outstanding IPP obligations immediately: Noting that Independent Power Producers “cannot sustain capacity under conditions of chronic payment default,” the Minority called on government to “publish the full quantum of outstanding IPP obligations and provide a binding, publicly available payment schedule with credible external verification.”
3. Commission a national infrastructure safety audit: “Ghanaians own this infrastructure. They are entitled to know the current maintenance and operational status of every critical node in Ghana’s transmission and distribution network,” the Minority said, warning that financial neglect may have left substations and control facilities in “a state of disrepair.”
4. Minister must appear before Parliament: The Minority demanded that the Minister of Energy appear before the full House to brief MPs on generation and transmission capacity, outstanding IPP debts, the status of the ESRP, and government’s “credible, costed, and time-bound plan to end Dumsor.” “Parliament’s oversight mandate is not optional. It is constitutional,” it stressed.
5. Ensure due process for suspended officials: Addressing recent actions against the ECG CEO and Ashanti Regional leadership, the Minority said investigations must be “transparent” and “evidence-based.” “If culpability is established, the law must take its course. If it is not, those officials must be fully and publicly exonerated,” the statement read.
“This government must not sacrifice public servants on the altar of political optics while its own ministers escape accountability.”
“Managing by Misdirection”
The Minority described government’s recent actions as “choreography of an administration desperate to be seen acting while refusing to confront the true author of this catastrophe: itself.” “Suspending a CEO, reshuffling a regional management team, and calling a press briefing are not an energy policy,” it said.
The statement blamed the NDC government for abandoning a “working recovery plan” left by President Akufo-Addo and Dr. Bawumia. “They were going out because the ESRP was abandoned. They were going out because IPP obligations went uncleared, revenue shortfalls went unaddressed, and the Minister told Ghanaians that darkness was actually the light of progress.”
Vow for Parliamentary Scrutiny
“Ghanaians are not living in darkness because of what happened on 23rd April 2026. They are living in darkness because of what this incompetent government has done — and catastrophically failed to do — every single day since it assumed office in January 2025,” the Minority said.
Collins Adomako Mensah assured the minority will pursue full parliamentary scrutiny of this energy crisis through every constitutional avenue available.
“We will not allow this government to extinguish accountability as easily as it has extinguished the lights of Ghana.”
