On Monday, May 19, 2025, Joy FM asked Ghanaians on Facebook to rate the performance of John Abu Jinapor, the Minister for Energy and Green Transition, under President John Mahama’s administration.
The question was simple: “From 1 to 10, how would you rate the minister’s performance?” But the responses were far from simple. Many Ghanaians used the opportunity to express their disappointment, especially due to the recent rise in power cuts, popularly known as dumsor.
Before coming into office, Mr. Jinapor strongly criticized the previous government whenever there were power issues. However, now that he is in charge, many feel he is offering excuses instead of solutions. Just a few days ago, he revealed that Ghana had only 2.6 days of fuel left to generate power. According to him, the government managed to buy 450,000 barrels of fuel, which should arrive soon. He assured Ghanaians not to panic.
But that did not calm many citizens. People say the country should not have to wait until things are so bad before action is taken. Mr. Jinapor also disclosed that Ghana needs over $1.1 billion to buy fuel for power generation and currently owes Independent Power Producers (IPPs) about $1.7 billion. One major supplier, Karpower, has even threatened to shut down if the government does not pay a $400 million debt by May 18.
According to Mr. Jinapor, these debts and the lack of proper fuel funding in the electricity tariff system are causing major problems. The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) also struggles to collect payments from users, leading to a monthly loss of about 2 billion cedis.
While some Ghanaians support the minister and believe he is doing his best in a difficult situation, most people online seem unhappy. They feel that instead of solving the power crisis, he is only complaining. Many are asking for real solutions and better leadership to end the constant power outages affecting homes, businesses, and the economy.
Here are some reactions from Ghanaians
