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Ghana’s oil revenue to decline by 2017
By Masahudu Ankiilu Kunateh, Ghanadot
Accra, Nov 24, Ghanadot - Ghana’s enthusiastic efforts to become
a major oil industry player in Africa would be short lived, if
the country could only mine the Black Gold just discovered for
only 20 years.
Furthermore, data from the World Bank and the International
Monetary Fund have projected that Ghana’s could rake in a total
of $ 247.44 million as oil revenues in 2011 and would decline to
$1,550 in 2017.
Additionally, in the short term, the expected revenue could
possibly not be
sufficient for national expenditure.
To this end, civil society
organizations are calling on the Ghanaian Government, as a
matter of urgency, to develop and implement a fiscal regime that
would make the oil industry very attractive to investors as well; possibly in the form of taxes
and royalties.
At the Ghana Research and Advocacy Programme (G-RAP) 2009
Convention in Accra, yesterday, Dr. Cheryl Gopaul, CIDA,
Co-Chair, Governance Sector Group, urged the government to be a
strong negotiator with international multinational corporations
thus ensuring an appropriate royalty structure so that the
country gets the best and fair price for the sale of its oil and
oil rights.
To ensure administrative governance in the oil and gas industry,
she pointed out that institutions needed to be strong with the
requisite capacity to be effective and efficient.
These included technology, knowledge and communication and
negotiating skills, whiles the individual institutions needed to
be transparent and accountable they must also work in a
collaborative and complementary manner so that the overall
institutional framework for oil and gas is a cohesive whole.
For instance, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Fisheries
Commission, and Ministry of Ministry of Energy should work in
tandem for mutually accountable results.
It means that each institution must be prepared, must be clear
about their responsibilities and also their collective roles to
avoid operating in a vacuum or in a fragmented manner, Dr.
Gopaul warned.
Apart from the institutions, regulations, policies, programmes
and plans must be consistent, compatible to each other and fit
in as part of a larger coherent regulatory framework.
She emphasized the need for strong natural resources and
environmental governance, mitigation and management of
environmental impacts, risk management strategies and
contingency planning in the event of a disaster-health and
safety issues for the workers and the general population.
Touching on the theme “Transparency, Accountability and
Development of the oil and gas industry in Ghana”, the Vice
Chairman of G-RAP Board, Professor Kwame Ninsin warned that if
the oil resources should be handled reckless, they may portend a
future that was pregnant with far-reaching economic, social and
political implications, including serious security consequences
for the country.
Indeed, an appraisal of the cocoa and gold industries, show
contrasting impacts which can only be attributed to differences
in their respective structure of ownership and control.
The fact that ownership and control of the cocoa industry is by
the indigenous people of the country, wealth arising from it
accrues substantially to the producers notwithstanding the
mediation of the global market and the intervention of the state
to save part of the surplus for a larger purpose.
Ghanadot
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