Ghana’s Minister for Energy and Green Transition, Dr. John Abdulai Jinapor, has challenged Africa to look inward to solve the continent’s energy challenges, stating that the continent is endowed with highly skilled and competent engineers.
He made the remarks at the opening of the Africa Energy Technology Conference (AETC), held in Accra, Ghana, from Tuesday, May 19, to Thursday, May 21, 2026.
The conference brought together ministers, energy sector professionals, academia, and innovators.
Addressing the gathering, Dr. Jinapor emphasized that Africans are capable of addressing their own problems instead of relying on expatriates, noting that indigenous solutions are often more cost-effective.
He recounted how Ghanaian engineers successfully restored power supply from the Akosombo Generation Station to the national grid in just a few days after a fire completely destroyed the switchyard that receives and transmits power from the station.
“Recently, we had a major fire incident at our biggest hydro dam. The whole control centre was burnt, and we instantly lost 1,000 MW. If you have a peak demand of 4,500 MW and an installed capacity of 5,000 MW, losing 1,000 MW instantaneously is a huge challenge. For five days, it wasn’t easy for me as Minister for Energy. Despite this, the Ghanaian people demanded a reliable and uninterrupted power supply. Thanks to my engineers, within five days they resolved the issue, and we had reliable power,” the Minister said, illustrating how African engineers can solve their own problems without external support.
Organized by the Africa Energy Technology Centre in partnership with Ghana’s Ministry of Energy and Green Transition, AETC 2026 is themed “From Borders to Bridges: Driving Intra-African Trade and Development through Energy & Technology Services.”
Touching on the theme, Dr. Jinapor emphasized the need for African nations to collaborate by sharing ideas and leveraging each other’s resources to solve common challenges.
He highlighted Ghana’s energy trade, noting that the country imports gas from Nigeria for power generation and exports some of it to its West African neighbors.
He also mentioned a recent discussion with a delegation from Benin, which requested that Ghana increase power exports to them, reinforcing the importance of regional cooperation.
“We must work together. We take gas from Nigeria—about 100 mmscf/day—to generate power and export some to our neighbors. That is how we build bridges. That is how we move from borders to building bridges,” he stated.
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