The Chairman of the Civil Society Platform on Oil and Gas, Dr. Steve Manteaw has alleged that government’s hasty handover of Ghana Gas Company to the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) is a short-term expediency.
He said the takeover is to enable GNPC expand its assets following its acquisition of the US$700 million commercial loan.
[contextly_sidebar id=”E8Cojiy54POVFBApE0lLep8QnAl54ixW”]The GNPC’s controversial acquisition of the US$700 million loan from the Deutshe Bank of Germany has resulted in a law suit filed by three Minority Members of Parliament (MPs).
The Corporation was accused of breaching the constitution by seeking the loan without Parliamentary approval.
There were also allegations that the GNPC was taking the loan on behalf of the Mahama government; an allegation which was denied by GNPC boss, Alex Mould.
Mr. Mould explained that the loan will be used to support the Corporation’s increasing oil and gas infrastructural investment.
Since the Energy Minister announced that the Ghana Gas takeover was complete, there have been speculations that the hasty move is to enable the GNPC possibly satisfy some conditions in the US$700 million loan agreement.
Sharing his thoughts on the matter, Dr. Steve Manteaw told Citi News that the hasty move will create governance challenges for both companies.
He accused the Energy Ministry of attempting to “cut corners in the transition process; a situation which is likely to create new corporate governance challenges for both GNPC and Ghana Gas.”
He stressed that the indecent haste with which the Mahama administration is seeking to effect its recently announced decision to re-create Ghana Gas as a subsidiary of GNPC “seems to me that the driving imperative is a short-term expediency, particularly GNPC’s decision to contract a US$700 million commercial loan, and therefore the need to expand its assets by adding Ghana Gas to its portfolio.”
He therefore urged the Energy Ministry to “hasten slowly and proceed in a manner that does not cast doubt on the real intent of the reforms.”
By: Marian Efe Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana