Ranking Member on the Energy Committee of Parliament, John Jinapor has disputed the Vice-President’s assertion that payment of GHC17bn for energy sector excess capacity contributed to the economic woes of the country.

Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia while speaking at the launch of IT Programmes at Accra Business School on Thursday, stressed that payment of the energy sector excess capacity and financial sector clean-up compelled the government to opt for an IMF programme.

But John Jinapor in an interview on Top Story, Thursday, said “Let me put on record that the so-called payment of GHC17bn for energy sector excess capacity is a figment of imagination of this government”.

According to John Jinapor, the government has not paid the said amount, stressing that “it exists nowhere”.

He referenced page 30 of the 2021 report of the Public Interest and Accountability Committee to debunk the Vice-President’s claim.

He quoted the report which states that, "although gas payments are to be made to the petroleum holding fund, they were paid directly to gas suppliers and service providers such as WABCO and OTCP accounts.”

John Jinapor asserted that “immediately they [NPP] won power, apparatchiks and agents of this government went to form a company called Stratcon Energy. When Stratcon supplies the fuel, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta decides to pay them directly because ECG is making losses of 30 percent…and all those losses because they are unable to pay, the Ministry of Finance goes to pay those losses.”

This, he said does not constitute the energy sector excess capacity.

“The Vice-President might need some education on what constitutes excess capacity,” he told Evans Mensah.

He challenged the Finance Ministry and the Energy Ministry to provide details of such payments to the public.

The Yapei Kusawgu MP further noted that the Energy Minister had claimed before the House that the “total payment to IPPs; that is the shortfalls and any other thing is about GHC900m.”

John Jinapor contended that the only reason the country's economy is in a mess is “because of reckless borrowing, not spending on priority issues and engaging in frivolous expenditure”.