Mahama brought ENI Gas project– Jinapor replies Bawumia

John Jinapor, a former Deputy Minister of energy has told Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia that John Dramani Mahama did a lot of projects in the energy sector including the ENI Gas project.

He said this project is currently supplying power to the Kar Power plant which is supplying energy to Ghanaians.

In May 2016, Former President Mahama, then president of Ghana, cut the sod for the commencement of work on an onshore reception facility for the Offshore Cape Three Points (OCTP) integrated oil and gas project at Sanzule in the Ellembelle District in the Western Region.

That project was undertaken by ENI S.p.A., an Italian multinational oil and gas company with operations in 79 countries which is currently the world’s 11th largest industrial company.

Mr Jinapor was speaking on the Newsfile programme on Joy FM Saturday, May 9 in response to Dr Bawumia’s recent comments that the Mahama administration failed to tackle the ‘dumsor’ crisis well.

Dr Bawumia, on Monday, in a response to Mr Mahama’s comment that COVID-19 has sent the Akufo-Addo government’s oft-touted “resilient” and “robust” economy into the ICU, said President Akufo-Addo is a better manager of crises than his predecessor.

The flag bearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) had said in one of Facebook interactions with Ghanaians that: “Unfortunately, this government has used a lot of propaganda saying the economy has been the best that we have ever had since independence. Unfortunately, just one month of coronavirus the economy is in ICU. If we didn’t run to the IMF for the one billion rapid credit facility, it is possible that in the next month probably salaries would not have been paid and so our economy is on ventilators, and it needs thinking to rescue it from the ICU.”

But speaking at a media interaction after a COVID-19 response team meeting on 4 May 2020, Dr Bawumia noted that: “If you want to test the robustness of an economy, you test it in a time of crises. Thankfully, we’ve had two crises.

“Under the NDC, there was an internally-generated crisis, which was dumsor. Under the Presidency of Nana Akufo-Addo, there’s been an externally-generated crisis, which is the global coronavirus pandemic. I just want you to ask yourselves how have these two crises been managed?

“The dumsor crisis, which crippled this economy for four years, what were the mitigating measures offered to businesses and individuals during dumsor which was an internally generated crisis?

“We saw that even during dumsor, electricity prices were being increased, fuel prices were being increased, teacher training allowances were being cancelled, nurse training allowances were being cancelled; all of that was happening during that particular crisis.”

He continued: “You look at the coronavirus crisis and you look at the difference in terms of what has happened. The President has reduced electricity prices, made it free for lifeline consumers, given free water to all Ghanaians for three months, has made sure there’s a stimulus package of GHS600 million for businesses and we have seen domestic production of PPE for our health workers.

“So, the difference couldn’t be [clear] during a leadership under the crisis of dumsor and under the coronavirus pandemic. So, I ask a simple question: Who will you trust in a time of crisis? The answer, I will say is very clear – Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has shown leadership and concern for ordinary Ghanaians.”

But Mr Jinapor who is also Member of Parliament for Yapei Kusawgu said : “Lets even put the Atuabo gas processing plant aside, the ENi project was a game-changer. The ENI project gives us gas to power the Kar Power Plant.

“We are thinking of working in reverse when it comes to the West-East, Tema. That is president’s Mahama records. He negotiated and did a lot in terms of the ENI project.”

Also speaking on the same show, Dr Gideon Boako, spokesperson of Dr Bawumia said: “Fuel prices were increased at time that there were dumsor. People were losing their jobs and their income and they could not support their children’s education.

“The very few who had their children going to teacher training colleges and the nursing training colleges and were given some allowance that was instituted by Mr Kufuor, Mr Mahama and the NDC looked into face of miserable Ghanaian people and at the time of dumsor cancelled teacher training allowance, cancelled nursing training allowance.”