The Minister of Energy and Green Transmission, Dr John Abdulai Jinapor, has cautioned engineers of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) against politicising their professional duties, stressing that their loyalty should be to the nation rather than any political party.
Dr Jinapor delivered the warning during a meeting with four regional managers, 21 district managers, and ECG engineers operating in the Ashanti Region.
According to the Minister, the inability of the company to consistently provide safe, stable, and reliable electricity to consumers had brought the energy sector into disrepute, partly due to what he described as deliberate negligence by some engineers.
“Your job is that of an engineer and not a politician. You cannot be a politician. That’s why I say if you want to be a politician, you exit,” he stated.
He emphasised that his responsibility as sector minister was to ensure discipline, commitment, and professionalism among all staff within the energy sector to guarantee quality service delivery to citizens.
Dr Jinapor noted that beyond the criticism government often faces during periods of power outages, ECG also incurs financial losses from electricity generated and paid for but not effectively utilised.
The Minister further urged all ECG managers, especially district managers, to improve their performance and ensure efficient power distribution across the country.
“You are the face of the ECG. If the managers don’t work well, it tarnishes the image of the company,” he said.
As part of measures to improve service delivery, Dr Jinapor disclosed that the Ministry of Energy, in collaboration with the Energy Commission, was establishing a full command-and-control centre to monitor operations and track service delivery using modern technology.
He explained that all managers would be provided with new mobile phones connected to the system through dedicated contact lines to ensure timely reporting and rapid response to power-related issues.
“The main issue is the time of response. The centre is not just for updates, it’s also to track transformers as well,” he stated.
According to the Minister, a short code and dedicated hotline linked to the system would also be made available to the public to report electricity faults and power outages directly to authorities.
He further revealed that electric motorcycles and pickup trucks would be distributed to ECG district offices to support operational activities and improve response times.
Dr Jinapor said the Ministry was intentionally equipping ECG with the necessary tools and logistics to enhance service delivery nationwide.
He stressed that managers and engineers would be held accountable for any failure to provide safe, stable, and reliable electricity supply in their respective operational areas.
The Minister also disclosed that several energy projects were underway to increase electricity generation capacity in response to growing population demands.
“Very soon we’re going to have over 1000 MW situated here in Kumasi, a strategic location,” he said.
Dr Jinapor therefore urged ECG staff to remain committed to their responsibilities and warned against any attempts to sabotage the power distribution system.
