Ghana: Consequences of Oil Discovery
Ghanaian Chronicle (Accra)
16 April 2008
By Sebastian R. Freiku
Kumasi
The Executive Director of Wassa Association of Communities Affected by Mines (WACAM), Mr. Owusu Koranteng, has cautioned the government against what he described as “Oil back loan”- the tendency of resorting to external borrowing with the purpose of paying with Oil.
|
|
He has further called on the government to take a critical look at the negotiation terms with foreign partners in order to develop the capacity to manage and allocate windfall profits that may be accrued from the mineral resources.The WACAM Executive Director, who was speaking on the theme “Oil Discovery in Ghana; Lessons from the Gold Industry”, at a presentation organized by the Spatial Planning For Regions in Growing Economies (SPRING), a student wing of the Department of Planning at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. He said, it was very important for the government to adequately study the experiences and fallouts from the mining industries in order to take a holistic approach to the management of the Oil.
He mentioned issues like political instability, violation of human rights of people living in catchments areas where Oil is found, secrecy in contractual agreements, opaque revenue payments and increase in government’s budget spending, as some of the factors that should be taken into consideration as the government enters into negotiation with foreign partners.
Mr. Koranteng noted that, in order to ensure that the people benefit immensely from the natural resources, the government must avoid being tempted into creating an enclave economy, where job opportunities would be limited to few people who have linkages with the top men. While the indigenes on whose lands these oil is found are often left to bear the brunt ofdirect consequences of the mineral extraction through environmental pollution and other forms of degradations.
He said, through the study of WACAM, it has been proven that women and for that matter children suffer the consequences of mineral extraction as witnessed in areas like Koduakrom, Ahafo and other mining areas in the country. He therefore urged the government to take adequate steps to address the issue of gender and Oil exploitation.
Mr. Koranteng indicated that the stability clause and the windfall profit in the mineral and mining activities put the country at a disadvantageous position in terms of negotiating with foreign investors and therefore urged the government to employ tactical measures, in order to realize the full potentials that come along with mineral exploitation.
He recommended that technocrats and other stakeholders in the Oil business continued to do a lot of debate and consultation on the issue, so that a more comprehensive negotiation could be made to the benefit of the country.
Mr. Koranteng further appealed to the media to throw more spotlight on the myriad of problems being encountered by communities affected by mining, in order to serve as a guideline for the formulation of policies and programmes which would help the survival of the indigenes at the place where the oil is being exploited.
Participants at the roundtable discussion also recommended the training of personnel and the strengthening of advocacy agencies in order to hold foreign investors and the government more accountable to the people.
Copyright © 2008 Ghanaian Chronicle. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).
Empowerment Alliance: