FORUM ON OIL REVENUE AT SUNYANI (GRAPHIC NSEMPA, PAGE 10, SEPT 27, 2010)

By Akwasi Ampratwum-Mensah, Sunyani

The joint Parliamentary Committee of Mines and Energy and Finance, superintended over a stakeholders’ forum, aimed at reaching out to the people to seek suggestions, contributions and their views on the Petroleum Revenue Management and the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Bills, 2010 before they are passed into law.
The Consultative forum has become necessary because parliament is desirous of fashioning out a good law that would regulate the oil find in the country, in terms of exploration and production as well as the sale of the products.
Among the participants at the forum held at the Eusbett Hotel in Sunyani, the capital of the Brong Ahafo Region were Municipal/District Chief Executives, (MDCE’s) heads of decentralised departments, students, presiding members, representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGO,s) paramount chiefs and other identifiable groups, drawn from the Northern sector of the country.
Mr James Kluste Avedzi, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Finance and Mr Joseph Kofi Addah, the Ranking Member of the Committee on Mines and Energy, gave overviews on the two bills respectively, with both stressing the importance of the bills in respect of the oil find.
They again emphasised the need for all Ghanaians to depoliticise the oil find in the country and rather make meaningful suggestions regarding the prudent management of the oil revenue, pointing out that, the oil find was not for any one person or a group of individuals.
All the contributors at the forum, with one voice, called on the government and indeed all those who would be directly or indirectly responsible for the management of the natural resource to do so with a high sense of nationalism instead of being parochial.
They suggested that, part of the oil money should be used to strengthen the chieftaincy institution and also to solve the massive unemployment problem facing the country, while others also were of the opinion that, a special tribunal be set up to prosecute whoever attempted to ‘‘Squander’’ the oil money, adding that, those so convicted should not have any option of an appeal.
The Deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr. Eric Opoku, in his welcoming address noted that, there had been several platforms for consultation and technical discussion on petroleum exploration, production and revenue management.
He however, pointed out that, the Sunyani forum was very important, in view of the influx of companies into the country for the exploration of more fields, and the fact that the country would soon start the production of the resource.
‘‘There is, therefore, the need for such a broad consultation and national consensus, especially before the finalisation of the 2011 national budget for all citizens to be clear in their minds that, revenue from oil, would be put to prudent and efficient use for the benefit of all Ghanaians’’.
The consultation, he said, should serve as the forum to collate all shades of opinions so that all Ghanaians would own the final legislations on the exploration, production and use of oil resources so that some of the negative experiences of some countries would be avoided.