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Oil exploration should not curtail the livelihood of the
people – Chinery-Hesse
Accra, Feb. 26, Ghanadot/GNA – Mrs Mary
Chinery-Hesse, Chairperson of Ministerial Steering Committee
on Oil and Gas on Tuesday called on Parliament to serve as a
watchdog to stakeholders in the oil industry in order not to
deprive Ghanaians of their livelihood.
She said the Committee would collaborate with Ministry of
Fisheries to ensure conflicts between oil exploration and
fishing activities did not occur and also minimize effect of
their activities on the people.
Addressing the closing session of the first part of the
National Forum on Oil and Gas Development, Mrs Chinery-Hesse
said the best way Ghana could benefit from the oil industry
was to ensure that Parliament considered what was uniquely
Ghanaian and the best for Ghana.
The two-day National Oil and Gas Forum was organized to
enable Ghana benefit from lessons learned by other countries
and international experts in the oil and gas sector
following Ghana’s recent discovery of oil in the West Cape
Three Point Block.
The next three days, which would cover the second part of
the forum, would involve a closed door meeting for public
sector institutions that need capacity building to be able
to manage the resource.
Mrs Chinery-Hesse who is also Chief Advisor to the President
said: “The most important lesson we must learn is that oil
and gas are assets that would diminish with exploitation,
therefore, we must be wise about policies instituted in
order not to derail the economy for current and future
generations.”
She said Ghanaians must acquire the requisite knowledge to
be in charge of the sector, as a result a data-base would be
established to tap the knowledge of Ghanaian experts outside
the country for the full utilisation of the industry.
Mrs Chinery-Hesse said a system of continuous interaction
would be established to communicate with stakeholders to
ensure transparency and avoid social difficulties.
She said the policy to guard the sector should be a win-win
policy taking into account the interests of investors,
development partners and international institutions to
ensure continuous best practice.
Nana Dr S.K.B. Asante, Chairman of Ghana Arbitration Centre,
expressed appreciation to the participants and experts from
Norway, Nigeria and Canada for sharing their experiences
with stakeholders in the oil industry.
He said efforts would be made to reconcile all interests for
sanity to prevail in the sector.
GNA
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