President Akufo Addo has committed to the efficient use of Ghana’s oil revenue to give value for money and protect the interest of Ghanaians.
According to him, Ghana has no reason not to improve the lot of citizens with a decade of commercial oil exploration.
The President was also hopeful the judicious use of the state’s revenue will position the country as an attractive investment destination within the sub-region.
Nana AkufoAddo gave the assurance at a ceremony to officially start the commercial production of oil on the SankofaGyeNyame oilfields on Thursday [July 6, 2017].
“We shall prudently manage our petroleum resources with a long term perspective for the benefit of Ghanaian society as a whole. By judiciously managing our petroleum resources, we shall provide adequate revenue to our country to ensure the welfare of our people; promote employment, improve the environment and strengthen the faith in industrial development in Ghana,” he said.
With a decade of commercial oil exploration, Ghana has been able to implement some laws and policies to guide revenue management as well as offshore and onshore operations.
Among them is the Petroleum Exploration and Production (E&P) Bill which was passed in 2016.
This Bill guides the exploration activities, revenue allocation and expenditure as well as ensuring transparency and accountability in the oil and gas sector.
Also, the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) has been constituted to monitor and report on the petroleum revenue management.
Through its semi-annual and annual reports, PIAC is able to identify loop holes in the revenue allocation and/or management and offer recommendations to bridging such gaps.
Key among these challenges have been the inadequate revenue mobilisation by the GRA from the oilfields i.e. exploration companies or other tax obligations.
In addition, the President has in line with the NPP’s manifesto outlined some key plans to guide the objective of committing to the judicious use of the oil revenue.
These he says include;
“Ensuring that the petroleum sector remains a significant contributor in financing nationwide industrial development by generating resources that can be used for rapid development of our national infrastructure for increasing agricultural productivity, accelerating job creation and facilitating the building of national capacity to enhance advanced technology.”
“A paradigm shift in the structure of the economy towards the increased industrial value added production,” Nana Addo added.
The SankofaGyeNyame oil project which is hosted on the FPSO John AgyekumKufour, is the third major oil production after the Jubilee and TEN fields all in the Western region.
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By: Pius Amihere Eduku/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana