Jantuah lauds Mahama for immediate actions on ‘dumsor’

Lawyer Kwame Jantuah has commended President John Dramani Mahama for his prompt actions and approach to the looming energy crisis.

Speaking on Morning Starr with Naa Dedei Tettey, he praised Mahama’s leadership during the previous energy crisis, noting that his experience in the sector has equipped him to tackle the current challenges.

“If President Mahama hadn’t gone through the ‘dumsor’ crisis, it would have been difficult for him to address the energy sector’s issues today. But he immediately recognized the problem and put a team in place, which I think is a positive step,” he said.

Lawyer Jantuah attributes the looming energy crisis to successive financial challenges for all governments. He stressed that the core issue lies with the cash waterfall mechanism, which is crucial for generating revenue within the sector but has been difficult to manage due to inconsistent payments for electricity distributed.

“The problem of the energy sector is related to finance and has always been a challenge for all governments. They haven’t really been able to handle the cash waterfall mechanism that brings revenue to the sector,” he said.

Lawyer Jantuah expressed confusion over the decision by the Ministry of Energy to instruct the West African Gas Pipeline Company (WAPCo) to defer actions until January 2025.

He raised concerns about the lack of transparency regarding the reasons behind the deferment, questioning whether it was due to financial constraints or capacity issues.

“I didn’t understand why they told WAPCo to defer to January. They haven’t told us why they made that decision. Was it financial or a capacity issue? If we knew, we could better understand the situation and address it,” he asked.

The lawyer also pointed out that the country has not made significant progress in the exploration of production over the last eight years, especially in the gas sector, which is critical for electricity generation.

“It shows that we haven’t made progress in exploration to production in eight years. Gas is the main fuel for our electricity, especially in the Tema enclave where we fire our generators. We need to make sure there is adequate financing for electricity, with enough funds to buy stock on standby,” Jantuah emphasized.

Lawyer Jantuah urged the incoming energy minister to avoid political blame games and focus on finding practical solutions. He emphasized the importance of collaboration with the finance minister, particularly in managing the cash waterfall mechanism and securing the necessary finances. “The new energy minister should not engage in the politics of blame. He must focus on solutions, work closely with the finance minister, and carefully plan the financing needed for the sector to ensure there is adequate power throughout the year,” he advised.

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