AMONG the many problems of Africa is the mismanagement of resources which has on too numerous occasions angered residents of the resource catchment to the extent of becoming the source of violent demonstrations and counter-demonstrations in our countries; the civil demonstrations over 100% fuel price increases in Nigeria is a recent example. These are bound to happen when African citizens are left to wallow in abject poverty while their counterparts in other continents, which produce less than half of what our countries produce, enjoy the fruit of Africa’s wealth.
THAT, in the opinion of us on Today, is a clear case of in the abundance of water on the continent there is none for us the citizenry to drink. Stakeholders in the oil and gas industry in Ghana have sought to place themselves strategically to benefit from Ghana’s production with traditional leaders from certain regions publicly advocating for their fair share of the revenues.
THE discovery of oil in commercial quantities and its subsequent drilling, which began in December 2010, is also the originator of the many conferences and seminars that the organisers intend to use to offer education and advice on how well we have to manage the black gold if we must use it to enhance our economic growth.
THE latest and most popular yet is the deliberations at the 68th Annual New Year School at the University of Ghana, Legon, where participants sought to review the benefits the exploitation of the black gold has bequeathed on Ghana after one year of exploitation. Issues of concern raised by participants among others included a call on government to create a special account where oil revenue could be deposited and also a publication of the revenues and expenditures from the oil industry in Ghana.
THESE, according to the school, would help ensure transparency in the management of revenues from the oil and gas industry. Though they did not make specific mention of regional allocations of the revenue, these solutions could also be applied to the demands made by chiefs of the Western Region and other regions on how well they could benefit from the black gold proceeds
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IT will be recalled that Parliament of Ghana, among other things, also extended its sittings to about 23:00HRS GMT on December 9, 2010 all in an effort to decide whether the country’s oil should be collateralized or not. There is an Akan proverb that says: “Baabi a Otomfour bo no, eho na ehia no,” literally: The blacksmith hits the part of the metal that interest him the most.
IF that axiom is anything to go by, then managers of the oil revenue must be careful in the management of oil revenues, because time and time again, experience has shown that public officials placed in gate-keeper and regulatory positions over our resources on this continent tend to think of their personal pockets rather than the good of all.
AND Ghana will do well to avoid that in the management of our crude oil industry and revenues.
That is why we on Today would add our voices to the many calls for transparency and accountability, which are always raised at the conferences and seminars and are some of the fundamentals on which various speakers always agree are necessary to ensure the development of both the sector and the country.
IF the vulture had listened to advice it would have been spared a bald head. Ghana must pay heed to the numerous advice and offered solutions before the worst befalls the country. There are too many examples of that for us to also go that same way.