|
Panelist agree on use of oil revenue to nation’s benefit
Tema, April 17, Ghanadot/GNA - Panelists
at a public lecture on Ghana’s emerging oil industry have
asked the government to guard against concentrating too much
on the oil to the detriment of other sectors of the economy.
They held that too much concentration on the oil find has
the tendency to put pressure on other sources of revenue
generation and plunge the nation into socio-economic
hardships.
Speakers at the lecture included Dr Kofi Kodua Sarpong,
Managing Director of Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), Mr Kwesi Pratt
Jnr., Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper and Mr Robert
Kwabena Poku-Kyei, Special advisor to the Minister of
Finance.
Their topic was: “Ghana’s oil find a curse or a blessing.”
They stressed on the need to utilize the oil revenue
judiciously to develop the entire nation for the benefit of
all.
The lecture was organised by the Tema Chapter of the Kwame
Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.
The two speakers said the sustenance of other sectors such
as agriculture, to complement the oil industry would ensure
rapid progress.
Mr Pratt and Dr Sarpong said the curse or blessing of the
oil discovery would largely depend on how revenue generated
from the industry would be utilized.
Dr Sarpong suggested the setting up of an investment fund
which should be assessed for the promotion of
industrialization and ensure that there is a reserve of oil
against future generation.
He called for policy measures that would make it mandatory
for the oil companies to recruit local skilled personnel,
noting that often expatriates come along with their staff to
the detriment of the local people.
This however, requires that the local people should develop
their skills to enable them qualify for the job.
Mr Pratt called on managers of the emerging oil sector to be
guided by the success and failures of others producing
countries.
He said the Western Region oil find was not the first such
discovery in the country, saying there was some find in
Saltpond in the Central Region bit it did not work because
of mismanagement.
He expressed doubts as to whether the current oil project
would be managed to the benefit the entire nation because
other foreign exchange commodities such as mineral resources
and cocoa “have in no way improved the lives of Ghanaians”.
To avoid mismanagement of the oil resources, Mr Pratt
stressed the need to institute stiff punishment against
corruption to serve as deterrent.
In his presentation, Mr Poku-Kyei reassured that the
emerging oil industry would be managed to the benefit of the
entire nation.
“We cannot let the people down and government is ready for
the challenge, he stated, adding that the government was
aware of the challenges faced by some of the oil producing
countries and would take lessons from them.
He said it was in line with this that the government
initiated measures to design plans to minimize the dangers
and maximize returns for the benefit of the entire
citizenry.
“Government certainly cannot afford the mistakes of others,
we certainly have to learn from what has happened in other
countries,” Mr Poku-Kyei said, adding that the emerging oil
sector would consolidate the diversification of the nation’s
revenue base.
The lecture was chaired by Mr Paul Victor Obeng, former
Presidential Advisor in the erstwhile PNDC regime, now
Managing Director of OB Associates.
GNA
|
