What is this issuance of “prospecting” mining license in forest reserves flying everywhere in traditional and social media like that? Why these many permits to companies to take down Ghana’s rain-forest like that? Is that what collectively as Ghanaians we are agreeing to go about our development? Really! How many trees have today’s generation planted to warrant taking down what we came to meet? Will the US or UK give out a forest reserve for mining without having a replacement?

Wow! Is this how we are as a people? See, if you think the cool climatic condition around you out there has nothing to do with our forest cover, travel to our own Northern Ghana or Niger or Dubai in summer, and you will understand. And if you think the food in abundance on our markets in Sunyani, Kumasi, Accra, Takoradi or elsewhere has nothing to do with the weather in our rural areas, cast your mind back to 1983 in Ghana.

In the last couple of months, the number of so-called prospecting licenses from former President Mahama’s government and Nana Addo’s administration to gold and Bauxite mining companies in forest reserves that are popping up just don’t add up! The sad justification is that, they are going into the reserves for prospecting. Whichever way you look at it, they end up securing Mining Lease in these rain-forests.

What is shocking is the Forestry Commission’s approval to all these permits. They are always granting prospecting license to these companies as if when there are commercial finds, the forest won’t be taken down.

On 1st September, 2016, the Forestry Commission granted an entry permit for two years to C&G Alaska to carry out mineral prospecting license in the Upper Wassa Forest Reserve in the Wassa Amenfi Central District of the Western Region. Three (3) months after this license was issued, the company was finally given a mining lease to dig down this ancient rain-forest on 23rd December, 2016.

On 8th June, 2016, an entry permit was issued by Forestry Commission to Gye Nyame Mining Limited to go after the Fure River Forest Reserve in the Prestea Hini Valley District of the Western Region. Before, Forestry Commission could realize, the company was carrying out Illegal mining (galamsey) operations in compartment 1 of the forest which had been declared a Globally Significant Biodiversity Area (GSBA) in 2001.

On 24th December, 2015, a prospecting license was given to Exton Cubic Group Limited to also head for the Tano-Offin Forest Reserve for Bauxite in the Ashanti Region by the then Lands and Natural Resources minister under former President Mahama, Nii Osa Mills. On 20th June, 2017, the Forestry Commission gave Forest Entry Permit to the company.

When is the next one coming, and how many of such permits have been given out to these companies? Which forest reserve is the next victim?

In all of these, communities’ people who are the custodians of these sacred reserves have resisted the attempt to sell off the reserves. But our anti-green governments have succeeded in using state security to coerce the people to surrender.

In my view, instead of our governments looking for the next forest reserve to take down, why not travel to countries without resources like we have, and learn how they have moved from our third world status to developed ones?

Truth is that, when we are developed with these present reserves standing, our heritage alone will fetch us monies through eco-tourism.

But before I end, let me paraphrase this speech delivered by a teenager at a UN General Assembly in 1992, on behalf of her other four friends. She told the assembly in plain words that:

“[Telling you this] today, we have no hidden agenda. [We are] fighting for our future. Losing our future is not like losing an election, or a few points on the stock market. [We are] speaking for all generations to come.

[We are] speaking on behalf of the starving children around the world whose cries go unheard. [We are] speaking for the countless animals dying across this planet because they have nowhere left to go… [We used to go fishing in the village with [our fathers], until just a few years ago, we found the [the rivers through the shades of forest heavily polluted], and now we hear of animals and plants going extinct every day, vanishing forever.

In [our lives], [We] have dreamt of seeing great herds of wild animals, jungles and rain-forests full of birds and butterflies, but now [we] wonder if they will even exist for [tomorrow’s children] to see.

[Question:] Did you have to worry about these things when you were a child? All this is happening before our eyes and yet we act as if we have all the time we want and all the solutions. [At your various offices], you may be [appointees and ministers] of the government, business people,… or politicians. But really, you are mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, aunts and uncles, and all of you are someone’s child.

[In the developed worlds,] people live a privileged life with plenty of food, water and shelter. [They have super computers, good roads, food, big airports, ships and mega structures]. The list can go on and on for days.

….If a child on the streets who has nothing [may be] willing to share, why are we who have everything still so greedy? At school, even in kindergarten, you teach us how to behave in the world. You teach us to not fight with others, to work things out, to respect others, clean up our mess, not to hurt other creatures, to share, not be greedy. Then why do you go out and do the things you tell us not to do?

Do not forget why you are attending … [workshops, conferences, capacity building programs etc.], and who you are doing this for. We are your own children.

You are deciding what kind of world we are growing up in.

Parents should be able to comfort their children by saying, “Everything is going to be all right; it’s not the end of the world and we’re doing the best we can. But I don’t think you can say that to us anymore.

Are we even on your list of priorities? [Our dads] always say, you are what you do, not what you say. Well, what you do make [us] cry at night. You grown-ups say you love us, but [we are] challenging you, please make your actions reflect your words. Thank you.

Green is nature!

–

By: Obrempong Yaw Ampofo/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Obrempong writes: Trading our forests for money; a threat to the future appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

But if you think the mining menace is happening only on land, you may want to reconsider your stands. Apart from fish from inland sources like River Ankobra and others becoming poisonous due to heavy metals in them, the oceans, which currently supply majority of the fish we consume is faced with “sea galamsey”.

[contextly_sidebar id=”F2LWajPsOwGvVL8YZlftSZiiUQzoUust”]As we speak, the entire coast from Keta in the Volta Region to Half Assini in the Western Region has been open up for oil exploration. Oil companies are crisscrossing the sea every time for oil, just as miners do.

But you know; Ghana has three oil fields. Each of them has 500 meter safety zone around its FPSOs. Truth is; these installations obstruct fishing activities no matter the explanation suggesting otherwise. Add that to the illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing practices by the fishermen themselves; and the fishing space is in turbulence.

While at that, between January and March this year, different oil companies are carrying out different activities that impede fishing in the western waters; particularly at different times. Tullow Oil started another seismic survey on 16th January, 2017, and ended on 16th March, 2017.

For 49 clear technical days that this activity was carried out within the 3 months period, fishermen who carry out their expedition in this part of the coast have had interrupted expeditions.

Whilst they were on it, four sea accidents were recorded where ships carrying the seismic surveys collided with innocent fishermen on their fishing expedition. The accident led to the loss of two canoes and other fishing gears.

Others were left on high seas for three days against their initial plan. Till date, two of the disputed cases are yet to be addressed.

Secondly, when the FPSO J.A. Kufuor by ENI was been anchored to its final destination in January, fishing activities were also hampered for 7 clear days.

As we speak, Springfield E&P, another Oil company, is also carrying out seismic surveys in the same western waters. They started on April 10th and will complete on May 7th.

No one is saying we shouldn’t prospect for oil. But, as we’ve messed up with gold, if similar is done offshore, where every area is permitted for prospecting, we will crush down the fisheries sector employing 10 percent of the population.

Again, this should scare you the more. There are four coastal regions in Ghana. Out of these, the Western Region produces one-third (1/3) of total fish catch in Ghana annually from its 197 landing sites. It is followed by the Greater Accra Region, Central Region then Volta Region.

However, the leading fish producing region; Western, is the region seeing increased search for oil. So where are we going? And what will become of the fishing space?

In 2016, the Fisheries Ministry projected that fishermen across the country will harvest a total of 329,358.42 metric tons of fish. However, by the end of December 2016, the fishermen could do 294,627.07 metric tons, a shortage of 34,731.35mt. Bear in mind that we are already importing some 1 million metric tons of fish already. So what are we doing to ourselves?

Now check out the similarities between what is happening with galamsey and what is happening offshore.

Problem with what is happening offshore is that, our government feels oil is important than those fishermen and the fish they get. Yes, but the number of people whose livelihood depend on this sector that we are gradually killing it is enormous. No one would want that to happen to its country. Oil cannot replace fish.

Other countries drilling oil have exclusive zones reserved for fishing. Friends of the Nation and Hen Mpoano, all NGOs in the western region have advocated for this exclusive zone, yet, 10 years down the line, the situation remains same. We are waiting till it gets to the levels of Galamsey before the media is called in. Our behaviour does not reflect a serious country. The tragedy of mining in Ghana is that, every part of the country is opened up for mining and it’s a problem with leadership, not the citizens.

So the question is: Why is leadership giving out all lands and rivers out for mining without recourse to tomorrow?

Maybe those of us at Citi FM and other media organisations, must be thinking of the next hashtag.
–
By: Obrempong Yaw Ampofo/Citifmonline.com/Ghana
[email protected]

The post Obrempong’s Oil Diary: Sacrificing fishes for oil; a ‘galamsey’ threat offshore appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Some of us did not even have any clue that the brownish rivers we all see and pass by are the same that end up in our taps. Go to the Daboase Treatment Plant and see how the yellowish Prah River is scooped and sent to our homes on daily basis.

I guess if many of us had visited these plants, we might have been angrier enough and called for immediate end to galamsey by whichever means practicable.

That said; let us see how we got here and how we can get out of this mess.

Genesis of today’s trouble

“Galamsey” gave birth to small scale mining in 1989 when the government realized that, apart from the large scale mining companies like the Anglogolds, revenue could be generated from those traditional dig and wash [the pick-axe and shovel] method.

As a result, PNDC Law 218 legalizing small scale mining came in. Prior to this “new” act, people were doing the dig and wash.

Until sometime around 2006-2007, people who acquired licenses to do this small scale mining [dig and wash], were doing it somehow the right way. They were not digging down farmlands and in river bodies.

Didn’t the regulators notice the mess?

But, after 2006, a new phenomenon came up. Global demand for gold was increasing whilst the population was also increasing. Contribution of other means of supply of gold other than the multi-national mining companies was very much appreciated.

Small scale miners realized the primary tools were not efficient enough to catch up and so they required some heavy equipment in order to increase their yield.

Some of the miners resorted to banks, politicians and other businessmen for loans to acquire the equipment. By 2011 and 2012, a good number of excavators had been introduced into the sector which was supposed to be called small-scale mining.

Some businessmen and politicians at various levels realized the potential and then bought equipment and lands.

The Minerals Commission was needed to streamline this new form of mining because the face of small scale mining was changing. However, the regulatory environment did not match up with the trends. Was it that the regulators did not see it transitioning or it that they were coerced?

Why chiefs involvement?

About the same time, some chiefs in resource rich communities saw the benefit of giving out lands to these investors because, their share in the form of cash was paid instantly to them by the one coming for the concession.

They had also found an antidote to the Mineral’s Commission attitude of giving concession to miners without the knowing of the traditional authority in the communities. When they get to know, their royalties also take only God knows how long before it gets to their reach, amidst all manner of statutory deductions.

So this time, the chiefs were going to give the concessions to the miners before the Minerals Commission even dreams of it. It was nice doing business with the politicians and the businessmen.

The coming of the Chinese

The Chinese, with their “African Gold Invasion” policy, have heard of the booming small-scale turned medium scale mining in Ghana.

Apparently, some Ghanaians who had spotted the lapses in the law, and were capitalizing on it spoke to their Chinese counterparts. As businessmen too, they came in their numbers.

They came with huge amounts capable of buying heavy equipment, as well as paying huge untaxed instant monies to chiefs and land owners in the name of doing small scale mining.

With new methods, they could get more alluvial gold in places already mined by the dig and wash methods. It’s a new dawn! Already mined sites were resold.

Why carats over cocoa

The excitement of getting the cash “fiili fiili” [Physically or tangibly], got cocoa farmers with reserves on their lands to get their Gh.1million cash instantly without waiting for a crop season to be paid “peanuts” by COCOBOD.

Also, the corruption at Agric district offices during the John Mahama administration; the period which saw escalating abuse in mining in post 2000s, over “free” fertilizers to revitalize old cocoa trees, and the cumbersome procedure to acquire the inputs were enough incentive to end it all by selling the trees instantly for a cold hard cash. And the Chinese and politicians and other businessmen were ready!

Why increased mining in major rivers

The pollution of the major rivers did not start today. It started when there was a shift from primary tools to mechanized methods of small scale mining. Indeed, the Water Resources Commission’s report points back to this period.

How did the shift from use of primary tools to earth moving equipment and the “changfan” pollute our rivers? This is it. People have bought this equipment, but there was a challenge in securing lands for their operations.

The reason is that the big mining firms had acquired almost all the concessions. Occasionally, they were crashing with these small scale miners on their concessions.

But these miners, despite the prohibition from mining in river bodies, saw these rivers rich in alluvial gold lying unprotected by the state. That explains the abuse. Even the Ghana Water Company Limited whose primary existential relevance hinges on these rivers did very little to protect its sources. It only engaged in the business of complaining about water levels and turbidity.

The surge and the driving forces

The main factor driving the surge in the menace is the inability of the Minerals Commission to rise to the occasion. The Commission could not foresee the transition when small scale miners shifted their focus on use of primary technology to heavy equipment.

If it had foreseen, it would have proposed and facilitated the right regulations to create the medium scale mining law to streamline their operations.

Over 10 years, we still have not realized the miners have graduated to medium scale which requires new regulations. This laxity has led to acute shortage of water to some parts of the country, and the situation isn’t getting any better.

Sekondi-Takoradi has lost 3 million gallons of water from the Daboase Water Treatment plant due to low levels of water and artificial islands created by illegal miners at the intake point.

Suyani and its environs are not spared. Basic necessity such as water, Ghana cannot ensure it constant supply 60 years on. This country is sick!

Truth is that, when the resource and the means to extract are available, it makes no economic sense to keep it there. People would want to mine it. This is where the regulator needs to sit up. Speed up the introduction and passage of a medium scale mining law.

Surge has nothing to do with unemployment

The real people who own the excavators and the “changfans” used in abusing the environment are not poor people. That’s a fact! They have the means to buy excavators and the “changfans” at prices over a million cedis. Will you consider someone with a million cedis as a poor person in Ghana?

Truth is that, perpetrators of the illegality have hidden behind unemployment to advance their greed and their quest to get rich quick in a manner that defies logic and common sense.

Which company in Ghana is allowed to work against the laws of the land, but is allowed to continue on the grounds that it employs people? That is it. So the fact that those behind the illegality are employing some youths does not mean they do that on the back of joblessness of the youth. Greed is the driving factor.

Stay tuned for solutions to the threat posed to our rivers and the environment.
–
By: Obrempong Yaw Ampofo
E:mail: [email protected]

The post Obrempong writes: How laxity and greed worsened galamsey appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The Republican led US Congress have voted to overturn a historic transparency law; the Dodd-Frank Law passed by the Obama administration in July 2010 to stop international oil companies or mining companies in general [including those in Ghana] from signing corrupt deals with foreign (in this case our local) governments.

The Dodd-Frank Law and the Securities and Exchange Commission required these International companies with their roots in the US to publish payments in cash or kind made to the [Ghana] government which is up to $100,000 or above, for the public to see what the deal is about. The advantage here is that, it provides citizens the opportunity to scrutinize what their governments are signing on to.

It is for this law that the [Ghana] Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative was adopted and implemented. Since its implementation, big mining firms in Ghana such as Newmont Gold Ghana Limited, Anglogold, Chirano Gold Mines and many others have been publishing their payments around their business.

In fact, it is on the back of same that civil society organizations in Ghana such as the Africa Center for Energy Policy (ACEP), the Integrated Social Development Center ISODEC, Oxfam Ghana, Friends of the Nation FON and STAR Ghana etc. fought for the adoption of the Public Interest and Accountability Committee PIAC and to have it instituted in the 2011 Petroleum Revenue Management Act 815. [893 as amended]
It is for this same provision that journalist in Ghana could probe government officials when company’s in the extractive’s figures on their operations does not reconcile with the government. Being a journalist myself, I have had the opportunity to decipher some of these reports for my audience.

With the vote to overturn the Dodd-Frank Act, which served as a fountain of relief flowing from the US through many countries particularly in Africa, corrupt leaders and their counterpart in western world have been handed the key to lock transparency in the abyss.

The global light illuminating from the powerhouse of the world to expose corruption in the extractives is switched off! I am believing Mr. Trump that he has a better replacement, a surprise package for the transparency fraternity, if not, he has handed a weapon of mass destruction to “toddlers” in Africa!
Anyway! But this calls for a new dawn in Africa. It is about time the Africa Union rise up to the occasion. The Dodd-Frank Act came from the US.

It is about time citizens of Africa also calls on the Africa Union to reproduce regulations like the Dodd Frank Act and the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Act for Africa to regulate local and international companies who want to do business so as to fight corruption in Ghana and the rest of the African continent. Liberate your name African Union!
While we wait on the Africa Union and perhaps Mr. Trump’s surprise, I wish the companies who have been disclosing payments to the Ghana government and African governments at large to continue disclosing. They can do the mathematics to see if they have had to lose anything because they published what they paid. Let me humbly remind you all that, if for nothing at all, you have won the social trust from communities where you have your factories.

Oh Mr. Trump! How I wish you reversed this decision for that poor African child to hold on to his dream! You are million miles away, but this decision is dreadfully nearby! Hmm, may the will of God be!
–

By: Obrempong Yaw Ampofo
Email: [email protected]

The post Obrempong writes on US: Million miles away, but dreadfully nearby! appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The Takoradi MP, Dr. Kobby Otchere Darko-Mensah, told a large crowd of NPP supporters that late afternoon that, when the NPP is voted into office, the headquarters of the Ghana National Petroleum Commission, GNPC, was going to be relocated to the Western Region.

“…This will ensure that our people get some of the oil jobs to do and to give the region its fair share of the resources it produces…I have always maintained that Ghana is developed like kwashiorkor where everything is centered in Accra…we need to decongest Accra! GNPC will come here for all of us to get some of the jobs to do”.

This promise, as it was reiterated several times on public radio and on different platforms, has been accepted by the people of the region. However, opposing views have been registered by some institutions and Civil Society Organizations.

This piece is to present the issues from both sides of the argument, and to help us understand and to engage further on either side we belong.

The Relocation is a 2012 and 2016 NPP campaign promise

In page 25 of the NPP’s 2012 Manifesto Highlight, it was stated there that “…we will make the western region the hub of the oil and gas industry by relocating the relevant agencies in the industry from Accra to the Western Region”.

In the 2016 manifesto, the 2012 promise was redefined to have a bigger scope. In page 44, under the heading Energy and Petroleum in chapter 3 of the document, the NPP said it is going to “develop in collaboration with the private sector, Western Region into a regional oil services hub with a first class port facility, as well as positioning it as an efficient center for back-office support for the oil industry in the west African sub region, including the relocation of the headquarters of GNPC to the region”.

From the two manifesto promises, it can be seen that, the 2012 promise was a bit lighter in content in terms of the vision compared with 2016.

This promise has got experts in the oil and gas sector as well as concerned members of the public talking. They ask:

1. How will the relocation of GNPC give the western region its fair share of development and provide jobs?
2. Will the Petroleum Commission, Tullow, Kosmos and all other agencies in the petroleum mid and upstream sectors be asked to move to the western region? If no, how will GNPC alone transform the fortunes of the region, and if yes, will their relocation make the western region better of?
3. Will GNPC be relocated again in the likely event that oil is found in other parts of the country especially Volta region?

The debate

[How will the relocation of GNPC give the western region its fair share of development and provide jobs?]

Dr. Emmanuel Steve Asare Manteaw, ISODEC/GHEITI

“The chiefs and people of the region are agitating because of the sharp contrast between what the region gives to the state in terms of revenues and what the state in return gives back to the region to develop its infrastructure. But when GNPC is relocated, no new jobs will be created for the people in the region because, GNPC will leave Accra along with its staff. No new jobs! It will be better to create the petrochemical industry in the region which will have a greater potential of employing more people as a result of the many ancillary works that will come along with it. The industrial parks and the likes should be the focus. That will create jobs and develop the region.”

“Takoradi as I know it is congested. Large chunk of the land is taken over by mining. Others are taken by rubber and palm plantations. So there are land issues there. Finally, if you convert the Western Region into the “Texas” of Ghana, you will end up deepening the troubles of the people as the city will be more expensive to live in. Mind you, the industry is a specialized one so not everyone will get to work there”.

Cadman Dadzie, Director of Projects- Sekondi Takoradi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (STCCI)

“…The blackmailing of the Western Region by our so-called experts and critics must stop! It must stop! When the chiefs in the region asked for 10 percent retention of the oil revenues for infrastructural development, you kicked against it with excuse that the oil is drilled offshore. You blackmailed them with all manner of excuses. Sadly, some sons of the region even joined the wagon. However, these same so-called experts will come back here to say the western region is deprived. You come back to say the region is lagging behind in infrastructural development! You even agree the worst also comes from the West. How do you get the problem fixed when you kick against every proposal? I hear them talk about the fact that Takoradi is already choked and that when GNPC comes here the city will be congested, but let me ask, which part of Ghana is choked and congested than Accra where GNPC is located now?”

“…What the government seeks to do is a basic international best practice. You can cite Aberdeen, you can cite Estravenger, the Johannesburg and all over the world. These are cities which have been built because of the resources which are found there… It is not just the social responsibility bit of developing where these resources are taken, but the business side of it… When GNPC is relocated, the hospitality industry will benefit, the real estate business will thrive, building contractors will benefit, the number of air travel between Accra and Takoradi will increase and a lot more, local contractors will get some of the contracts that GNPC gives to contractors in Accra. So what is it? It will really be of greater business sense to have GNPC in the region and we at the STCCI are all out for it. In fact, we are keenly waiting for it!”

[Will the Petroleum Commission, Tullow, Kosmos and all other agencies in the petroleum mid and upstream sectors be asked to move to the western region?]

It is a fact that since 2012, it has been the Member of Parliament for the Takoradi constituency Dr. Otchere Darko, who has been constantly talking about the relocation of the GNPC publicly before it became a huge topic ahead of the 2016 general elections.

On Saturday 11^th July, 2015, Dr. Kobby Darko Mensah stated at a public lecture at Raybow Hotel in Takoradi that “if you take the last election [2012], we were very clear in our vision to make the western region the hub for oil and gas development. What it means is that, we are going to bring GNPC to Takoradi, Petroleum Commission, and also ask all the oil companies to relocate their headquarters to the region because there is a clause like that in the 1992 constitution”.

This statement by the MP who is seen in the inner circles of the NPP as the brainchild of this relocation provides answer to question 2.

Indeed, it will be a mirage and a bunch of disappointments if it is only GNPC is located. This will not in any way make the region the ‘Texas’ of the country as the NPP seem to be portraying.

In fact, the collaborative development of the Western Region into a regional oil services hub with a first class port facility, as well as positioning it as an efficient center for back-office support for the oil industry in the west African sub-region cannot be realized if key players of the industry remain in Accra if the GNPC is indeed relocated.

[Will GNPC be relocated again in the likely event that oil is found in other parts of the country especially Volta region?]

This has been the major concern of some industry players who have already commented on the relocation.

Dr. Kwame Ampofo – Chairman, Energy Commission.

“The relocation of GNPC may not be necessary because positioning of the headquarters of any organization is done by considering many factors. The particular headquarters is going to have linkages with other institutions; even international ones for example, finance issues, easy access to the seat of government, foreign affairs and other agencies in the energy sector. But most of the oil been produced from the western region does not mean that it will continue to be like that forever. In fact, the current data been collected by GNPC indicate that the Keta Basin will become the largest hub in this country and perhaps the West African sub region. Does that mean you will relocate the headquarters from the Western Region to Anlo-Keta or somewhere and then maybe in the Voltain Basin when we discover more fields in that case also? So the decision to relocate I don’t think has been analyzed carefully”.

Ismeal Agyekumhene- Executive Director, KITE

“From where I sit, quite frankly I can’t envision any straight benefit apart from the fact that if you put that promise in perspective, they want to turn the western region into the Oil and Gas Hub. If that is the thinking, then it is almost like having Houston as the headquarters of oil and gas in the USA for example. But in terms of the added benefit, I really can’t envision any serious implication apart from letting the people of the western region feel that they have the oil resources located in the region so getting the national headquarters closer to them is something. If GNPC makes a find in lets say the northern part of Ghana, are we going to move the head office? Another important thing is whether we are going to get all the other international Oil Companies; the Tullow, the Kosmos, the Anadarko to move to the Western Region? I am not too sure whether they have room to accommodate the expansion. So in terms of the local economy, yes, businesses are going to be a bit more vibrant, but it comes at a cost, I mean land is very expensive in Takoradi”.

Dr. Ishmeal Ackah-Head of Policy Unit-ACEP

“…We believe that it is not something that was well-thought through because very soon we are going to produce oil in the Volta Region so are we going to shift GNPC from the Western Region to the Volta Region? We can maintain GNPC here [Accra] and rather open subsidiary office probably for operations in the western region”.

My Opinion

There are two forms of development; one that is deliberately done, and one that happens as a result of another activity. In the absence of a deliberate plan to give back what the Western Region deserves, development in the region has been a spillover from the many activities.

Giving the importance of the Western Region, I will go for any genuine plan to deliberately develop it. The neglect of the region is not deliberate, at least, when you listen to people in government, and so a deliberate plan to give back to the region is long overdue. We could use the gold which gives more money to the country far better than the oil [at least for now] to turn the region around.

However, if the NPP believes that the oil, which is currently giving us only 3 or 4 percent of GDP, can be used to give back to the western region what it deserves, so be it.

However, if in the mind of the NPP, this “Western Turned Texas” promise is not doable in their years in power, it is never late to consult and to listen to suggestions from experts.

Undoubtedly, failure on the part of the party to honor this promise will affect its political fortunes in subsequent elections given that many of the comments from the middle class in the region are for the relocation.

To make this dream a reality, the NPP must produce a clear plan for the reinforcement of the existing structures in the Twin City to be able to accommodate the pressure already tearing apart the Twin City, produce a clear thought-out spatial plan for the oil and gas hub it seeks to create, [bearing in mind how the region is struggling to get land for a new Western regional hospital, and even one for a Sekondi District Hospital].

The aforementioned clearly communicates the negatives of their move to the people in the region, and so they must show a clear “sustainable” job creation plan and a workable capacity building plan for the sons and daughters of the western region, [bearing in mind also how difficult it has been to get people to meet the requirement for the Tullow Scholarship Scheme].

However, even though the NPP may have its own plan, the execution of the plan cannot be done in isolation. The experts who have thrown these challenges should be involved and given audience to make it a reality.

I doubt the NPP can afford to do any political maneuverings with this promise because; the eyes of the youth, the middle class and the chiefs are wide open.

–

By: Obrempong Yaw Ampofo

E-mail: [email protected]

The post Obrempong’s Oil Diary: GNPC’s relocation; the yes, the nos and my take appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Sadly, not a single sustainable solution has been offered by these trustees of our resources.

At one point, the natural resource ministry says something; and on another platform, the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology says another.

You will also hear Dr. Kweku Agyeman Mensah of the Water Resources Ministry complaining about the impending shutdown of water treatment plants due to illegal mining (galmsey).

Then the President is also heard talking about some regularization and all that. What at all is happening?

How come there has not been any single coordinated approach to tackle the menace other than the talk shops since 2013.

And whiles we were engaged in talking, our lukewarm and careless attitude rewarded us with polluted river bodies across many parts of the country, disrespect for conservatory traditions adopted by our forefathers, dwindling food crops and cocoa production, and the get rich quick spirit planted in today’s youths.

Don’t also forget about the number of youth and sometimes women whose lives the earth has swallowed too quickly.

That’s our reward! Perhaps, more sophisticated rewards are even in the offing been parceled to be delivered later.

That said; I am of the view that, the one who has disappointed us in all of these is the President of the Republic of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama, who’s in charge of protecting the supreme document of our land, the constitution.

Read this, and see if I’m far from the truth.

“Every mineral in its natural state in, under or upon any land in Ghana, Rivers, streams, water courses throughout Ghana, the exclusive economic zone and any area covered by the territorial sea or continental shelf is the property of the Republic of Ghana and shall be vested in the president on behalf of, and in trust for the people of Ghana”.

This is the wording of the 1992 constitution Article 257 clause 6.

Every mineral in their natural state upon or under any land, Rivers, streams and water courses; is for Ghana and vested in the president on behalf of, and in trust for Ghanaians.

With the renewed spirit of galamsey in many parts of the country, particularly the Amenfi districts of the western region, these quick questions come to mind;
1. When the quality of Rivers and streams and the environment, entrusted in the president on behalf of the 27 million people are been destroyed with impunity, who do we hold accountable?

2. When the resources we have entrusted in the president on behalf of the 27 million people are been stolen by Chinese nationals in collaboration with Ghanaians, who do we hold accountable?

3. Does vesting these mineral resources in the president [John Dramani Mahama] on behalf of the 27 million people mean he only taking charge of the revenues that accrue from it?
Well, some Chinese nationals in collaboration with locals are digging away the state’s chief foreign earner, gold.

[contextly_sidebar id=”B0D0dvYB6fsGFT95UHv5WDnC3JyVOSBb”]They are doing this by overturning lands, polluting Rivers, which hitherto were clean; and clearing the state’s second largest foreign earner, cocoa in search of gold.

a) Now, hasn’t the president, John Dramani Mahama broken the public confidence Ghanaians reposed in him to manage our resources?

b) Hasn’t the president breached article 58 clause 2 of the constitution which enjoins him to protect the constitution? What is the meaning of this?
“The executive authority [President] of Ghana shall extend to the execution and maintenance of this constitution and laws made under or continued in force by this constitution”.

c) Is the president executing article 257 clause 6 well; considering how illegal mining has been left to worsen?

In my opinion, the president is effectively executing the part of article 257(6) to the advantage of illegal miners throughout the country.

I will leave the rest of the discussion for your own judgment.
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By: Obrempong Yaw Ampofo/citifmonline.com/Ghana

Email: [email protected]

The post Obrempong writes: Upsurge in galamsey; Mahama a great disappointment appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Who is buying Ghana’s oil from the flagship Jubilee Field and recently, the TEN fields? Which companies are selling or buying them?

You may perhaps be asking, why does this matter? Oh yeah! It matters extremely because it’s an avenue for oil companies to escape taxes and to perpetrate fraud! Please spare some few minutes as we make sense of some leads in Ghana’s oil space.

Dr. Manteaw posed the question at a National Stakeholders forum on petroleum sector governance, organized by Friends of the Nation in Takoradi.

At that forum, he discussed with two other panellists – Benjamin Boakye of the African Centre for Energy Policy; ACEP, and Michael Asare-Akonnor of the Ministry of Finance on the theme; “Towards a decade of commercial oil discovery; progress made in addressing citizens’ concern”.

The moderator for the discussion; Solomon Kusi Ampofo, Communication, Advocacy and Campaigns Coordinator at Friends of the Nation posed this question.

“Dr. Manteaw, can you brief us on GHEITI’s report and what these reports reflect”?

Dr. Manteaw responds and I quote; “GHEITI… also requires transparency in commodity trading. I will cite example from the 2015 PIAC report. Over here, we found out that the Jubilee crude which the entire Jubilee partners are trading, sold at different prices over the same time frame. The highest achieved price was that of Tullow Oil which was somewhere in the region of $62-$64 per barrel. GNPC managed something around $52 per barrel and Kosmos also did $52 per barrel. This tells you that the two [GNPC and Kosmos] are selling at a fair market price.”

“When you delve into this statistics, it tells you that Tullow was able to get a higher achieved price [$62] because of its hedging policy. So Tullow hedged and won. But what is more intriguing is what Anadarko got for its oil, which is Jubilee crude. Anadarko sold for $44 per barrel. Jubilee crude? Selling at $44 per barrel? When others were selling 50 and 60?

[“…there is insider trading; trading within an affiliated entity. So they fix the price so low and sell it among themselves; and therefore, the lower the profit, the lower the tax on this profit they have to pay to the state. It’s possible”!-Dr. Manteaw, 2016]

Well, there could be explanations. It could be that, Anadarko hedged and lost; when Tullow hedged and won.
It could also be that Anadarko is not quoting the fair price. Maybe there is insider trading; trading within an affiliated entity. So they fix the price so low and sell it among themselves; such that, the lower the profit, the lower the tax on this profit they have to pay to the state. It’s possible! [Read about Mopani Glencore Scandal in Zambia and you will understand].

[Getting information in terms of what the companies are paying, and what is coming to the state are not enough. We need to be interested in who is buying our crude and at what price-Dr. Manteaw, 2016].

But, how do you establish that fact? We need to investigate it. But the question is; have we as a nation investigated it? The answer is No!

You see, getting information in terms of what the companies are paying, and what is coming to the state are not enough. We need to be interested in who is buying our crude and at what price.

[Either the suspicion that Saltpond Oil is mixed with stolen oil from Nigeria and other places is true, or it could be that indeed Saltpond Oil sold at a fair and right price but it is Anardako that is fixing price-Dr. Manteaw 2016].

And it becomes more interesting when you consider the fact that Saltpond Oil, which is a heavy crude, inferior crude, sold for $50 [in 2015], and Jubilee crude sold for $52. Really?

But that could also mean something. Either the suspicion that Saltpond Oil is mixed with stolen oil from Nigeria and other places is true, or it could be that indeed Salpond Oil sold at a fair and right price but it is Anardako that is fixing price.

So getting data on the price at which your oil is selling is as important as getting data on how much revenue you are getting as a state.

[During the first two years of oil production, we had a marketing arrangement with Cirus Oil and Vitol. Tried as I did to get a copy of the marketing arrangement, I failed-Dr. Manteaw, 2016].

In this direction, the GHEITI is interested in GNPC and how much they are selling our share of the Jubilee crude for and who is buying.

During the first two years of oil production, we had a marketing arrangement with Cirus Oil and Vitol. Tried as I did to get a copy of the marketing arrangement, I failed. Dr. Joe Abbey of CEPA also tried but failed to get a copy of the marketing contract.

I went all the way to write to the then minister of Energy and Petroleum Dr. Oteng Adjei to ask if we could get a copy of the contract. He told me those guys at GNPC are my friends so I know how to get it. I went to GNPC I did not get it.

[In whose interest is the reason the contract is been hidden, why?]

Now we have a contract with UNIPEK; a Chinese company which is now buying our oil. We have signed with an off taker agreement.

Thankfully through GHEITI, the contract is published now at GHEITI website. But it took some effort. I personally had to intervene to impress on the GNPC to make that document publicly available.

“So this is what the GHEITI is doing to push the frontiers of transparency in the management of the natural resource revenues in Ghana”.

Dr. Manteaw has been articulating similar sentiments on different natural resource platforms.

Stay connected for another edition of the Obrempong’s Oil Diary.
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By: Obrempong’s Yaw Ampofo/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Obrempong’s oil diary: Who is buying Ghana’s oil? Dr. Manteaw asks appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

This is the story of the three Wassa Amenfi districts of the Western Region, the Wassa Amefi East, West and Central; the ‘headquarters’ of illegal mining or galamsey in the Western Region.

The effects of this canker on agriculture is largely the work of illegal Chinese miners. They, in fact, returned with renewed spirits. They are in their hundreds in the three districts.

This time around, they do not own the illegal mining sites directly as they did in their first entry in 2013. In their second coming, they fund locals who in return account to them. On the other hand, they are directly involved in the sale of ‘small scale’ mining equipment.

The Chinese are by the minute looking for ways of weakening the security apparatus in the three Wassa Amenfi districts. That’s understandable because like criminals, they seek to make their operations safer.

That said; there is a worrying phenomenon emerging. The Chinese, with their ‘modernized’ methods of illegal mining have succeeded in killing the desire of the youth to produce food and in some cases a cash crop like cocoa. To the Chinese, carats of gold are more important than cocoa and food crops.

Carat over cocoa- ‘They sold the farm here to Chinese galamseyers’

The three Wassa Amenfi districts are significant producers of Ghana’s second largest foreign  exchange earner, cocoa. Indeed, the lands are fertile such that, cocoa trees are found around schools, church buildings, backyards, and by the roadside.

Sadly, several hundreds of acres of cocoa farms are cleared at Angoaho, Ehyireso and other communities in the Amenfi East District.

“Truly, these areas were full of cocoa trees. It stretched from that far to the back of the town.

They were however sold to Chinese miners sometime in 2015. That tree you see standing there is what is left”.

They have mined the area and have moved to another area to continue the degradation; Uncle Manu, a farmer at Ehyireso near Wassa Akropong said.

In Amenfi Central, several hundreds of youth mostly from northern Ghana, who were hitherto employed in cocoa farms have found the “light” to their financial freedom in the pits.

They pack themselves in pick-ups and taxis in the morning to the pits; instead of the farms. As a result, cocoa production has decreased.

“I have had to restock my warehouse with these soft drinks. Previously, I was buying my cocoa beans only from cocoa farmers in Akropong. In the past, I could buy 2,500 bags in the crop season. But today, warehouse is now full of drinks. The Chinese invasion has caused a lot of damage to cocoa production.

“They are taking down many cocoa trees at Angoaho. Recently, the district officer for Trans Royal was looking for 55 bags. It took me over a month to get that. In the past, without going outside Wassa Akropong, I could easily get it. With the trend, I doubt the government will ever get the 1 million tons projection.”

“I will buy any cocoa farm rich in gold”- Illegal Miner

On the face of this threat, there are illegal miners who say they are ready to offer good money to cocoa farmers who are willing to sell their farms to galamsey operators.

“Some of the farmers say their trees are no longer yielding enough for them like it use to be in the past. They tell me constantly. So for me, when any of them is ready to sell their farms to us, I will be ever ready to buy it because that’s what I also do for a living….and to those who say we are responsible for the dwindling production of agric, let them be told that we do not force the farmers to sell the land to us, they willingly sell it” Paulina Asante at Wassa Akroppong.

Carats over rice- Agric Director cries out

The Wassa Amenfi Central district is also one of the major producers of local rice in the Western Region. Rice grows well in their marshy areas.

“But today, the illegal miners are competing with us for these same areas of lands in the districts. These alluvial illegal miners are also competing for the labor we need. They have better comparative advantage over us in view of the quick returns galamsey guarantees. As a result, labor is very expensive and unreliable. Their activities are having a negative impact on agric in the district”, Amenfi Central District Director of Agriculture, Dominic Nyanzu.

“Mining is instant, agric takes years”-Miners

I visited an illegal mining site, some three kilometers away from Wassa Akropong. The site is owned and operated by two classmates James Cudjoe and Richard Ofori. They told me returns from farming come yearly, compared to galamsey’s daily returns. At the time of my visit, they were busily working as the sound from their Changfan filled the air.

Commenting on why they have chosen illegal mining over farming, James Cudjoe explained that “returns from farming are on yearly basis. But with this one, you could get something for yourself… Planting cocoa, weeding the farms, you will buy this or that, you may not have money either…. You would have to wait for a year before you get returns from farming. The situation may be disturbing when returns from farms do not match up investment”.

Richard Ofori also noted that “I was farming with my siblings. When we go to market after harvest, the food crops were bought at far cheaper prices. As things stand now, you cannot go into farming without adequate capital. The physical strength alone isn’t enough. Some of my brothers and others working here are graduates from universities, Polytechnic and Teacher Training colleges. They are all employed here, after been unemployed for some time.  You understand, so if doing this is serving as my source of livelihood, I will continue doing it”.

Clearly, their farming spirit has been dampened by quick returns from illegal mining.

“Food prices are skyrocketing”- Traders

I also attempted to understand the effect of the decision by the youth to mine illegally instead of farming. I did this by speaking to traders who buy foodstuffs to the markets.

In my interaction with traders at Wassa Akropong and nearby Bogoso markets, the traders expressed worry over the seeming increases in the prices of food brought from the villages. They lament that the prices have shot up even in bumper seasons.

“…So personally, I kept inquiring from our rural customers. Their responses are that, they are not getting the labor they need on the farms. Besides they complained that prices of agrochemicals are up to the roof. The situation gets dangerous when some of us have to transport the foodstuff from far distances to the markets. Transport cost escalates the prices. This prevents fast movement of the goods”, Grace Mensah at Wassa Akropong Market.

At the Bogoso market, I witnessed a heated debate between cassava and plantain farmers and their buyers.

The farmers were opposing the low prices the buyers wanted to offer for their produce. They indicated that “farming has become expensive these days”.

The buyers were also suggesting that “the high cost impedes fast movement of the foodstuff” some of which are perishable.

The Wassa Amenfi areas are known for cultivating both food and cash crops.

But with the over 2,000 persons estimated to be engaging in illegal mining, agriculture is likely to see a further decline.

More productive lands are by the minutes sold to the ever increasing Chinese in return for a cold hard cash.

A conscious effort is needed to avoid dangerous repercussions  for food security.

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By: Obrempong Yaw Ampofo

The post Obrempong writes: Agric dwindles, galamsey wins, Amenfi weeps appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.