Oil find in Ghana - Sam Jonah Praises GNPC
By DAILY GRAPHIC - Daily Graphic Feature Article | Mon, 06 Oct 2008
| 
 "The laymans constitutional view is that which he likes is constitutional and that which he does like is unconstitutional" - By: maame ama  |
I have followed with keen interest the news of a commercial oil find in Ghana and the optimism that it has engendered in the country.
There is a welcome buoyancy in the mood of many Ghanaians as they look forward to being an oil-producing country.
There are many people and institutions that deserve credit for the oil find — members of staff of the GNPC through to its present staff and of course to the public that patiently supported the difficult, protracted but unavoidable exploration effort.
There is indeed enough credit to go round.
I cannot therefore help being disappointed that amidst all the celebrations, no mention is made of the pioneering role of Tsatsu Tsikata.
When I compare the exciting prospects generated by the discovery with the state of affairs 20-odd years ago, I am reminded of the contrast between the situation of the mining sector before and after the implementation of the reforms of the mid-1980s.
I first joined the board of the Minerals Commission in September 1984. At that time, the mining sector was in a parlous state.
As a result of the work done by a few dedicated people under the leadership of Kofi Ansah, the sector was completely transformed in less than a decade.
In the mining sector, we at least had the benefit of over 100 years of mining and considerable technical expertise.
The oil sector in the early 1980s did not enjoy any such stature. I recall the scepticism with which prospects of Ghana finding oil in commercial quantities was greeted at the time.
I remember in 1985, while on a trip to the U.S., asking a chief executive of one of the major oil companies why they were not showing interest in searching for oil in Ghana.
His response was that their geophysicists had told them that our geological structures were too tight and too badly faulted to host significant reservoirs.
Today, we know just how wrong those geophysicists were. One man who defied the prevailing scepticism of the time and, with a persistence bordering on stubbornness, led the efforts to get us where we are today, is Tsatsu Tsikata.
Indeed, when I shared with him, shortly after it was made, the observation by the chief executive of the oil major, Tsatsu's response was: "Let's all wait and see".
Tsatsu led in the rethinking of petroleum sector policy.
He led in crafting the petroleum (Exploration and Production) law that was the "investment code" for the oil sector.
He led in drafting model exploration agreements including fiscal regime and Accounting Guide that is still state-of-the-art 20 years later.
He led in the development of a specific Petroleum Income Tax Law.
Beyond this intellectual and professional contribution Tsatsu emerged as a corporate leader — building GNPC itself from the ground up.
His vision was sufficiently infectious to attract even hard-nosed oil men to work on Ghana's potential, often with very little reward.
However, it is in his identification, recruitment and promotion of local talent that Tsatsu truly excelled. Continued
There is a welcome buoyancy in the mood of many Ghanaians as they look forward to being an oil-producing country.
There are many people and institutions that deserve credit for the oil find — members of staff of the GNPC through to its present staff and of course to the public that patiently supported the difficult, protracted but unavoidable exploration effort.
There is indeed enough credit to go round.
I cannot therefore help being disappointed that amidst all the celebrations, no mention is made of the pioneering role of Tsatsu Tsikata.
When I compare the exciting prospects generated by the discovery with the state of affairs 20-odd years ago, I am reminded of the contrast between the situation of the mining sector before and after the implementation of the reforms of the mid-1980s.
I first joined the board of the Minerals Commission in September 1984. At that time, the mining sector was in a parlous state.
As a result of the work done by a few dedicated people under the leadership of Kofi Ansah, the sector was completely transformed in less than a decade.
In the mining sector, we at least had the benefit of over 100 years of mining and considerable technical expertise.
The oil sector in the early 1980s did not enjoy any such stature. I recall the scepticism with which prospects of Ghana finding oil in commercial quantities was greeted at the time.
I remember in 1985, while on a trip to the U.S., asking a chief executive of one of the major oil companies why they were not showing interest in searching for oil in Ghana.
His response was that their geophysicists had told them that our geological structures were too tight and too badly faulted to host significant reservoirs.
Today, we know just how wrong those geophysicists were. One man who defied the prevailing scepticism of the time and, with a persistence bordering on stubbornness, led the efforts to get us where we are today, is Tsatsu Tsikata.
Indeed, when I shared with him, shortly after it was made, the observation by the chief executive of the oil major, Tsatsu's response was: "Let's all wait and see".
Tsatsu led in the rethinking of petroleum sector policy.
He led in crafting the petroleum (Exploration and Production) law that was the "investment code" for the oil sector.
He led in drafting model exploration agreements including fiscal regime and Accounting Guide that is still state-of-the-art 20 years later.
He led in the development of a specific Petroleum Income Tax Law.
Beyond this intellectual and professional contribution Tsatsu emerged as a corporate leader — building GNPC itself from the ground up.
His vision was sufficiently infectious to attract even hard-nosed oil men to work on Ghana's potential, often with very little reward.
However, it is in his identification, recruitment and promotion of local talent that Tsatsu truly excelled. Continued
"The Author's/Authors' views do not necessarily reflect those of ModernGhana."
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Oil find in Ghana - Sam Jonah Praises GNPC
Kwame Dwerebe | Lawrenceville-NJ, USA | 10/7/2008 5:22:00 PM
Sam Jonah is confusing two issues: Whether Tsatsu should be credited for the discovery of oil in Ghana and Whether Tsatsu allegedly committed the alleged crime. To argue that because he pioneered the discovery of oil in Ghana he should be honored instead of being charged for causing financial loss to the state is logically incoherent. Is it possible that he pioneered the discovery of oil in Ghana but he also caused financial loss to the state. Let Mr Jonah examine the ULTRA VIRES doctrine and answer the question as to whether the chief executive of a corporation is at liberty to misapply the funds of the corporation that he manages. A chief executive has to operate within the bye-laws of his corporation. He is not above the law. Similarly Tsatsu did not have the liberty to invest the funds of GNPC in areas not mandated by GNPC's bye laws or enabling statute. Let's interprete the law strictly instead of introducing extraneous matters that will water down the full effect of the law. Jonah may be excused because he is an engineer by training and not a lawyer.
Oil find in Ghana - Sam Jonah Praises Tsatsu
Kwame Dwerebe | Lawrenceville-NJ, USA | 10/7/2008 5:26:00 PM
Sam Jonah is confusing two issues: Whether Tsatsu should be credited for the discovery of oil in Ghana and Whether Tsatsu allegedly committed the alleged crime. To argue that because he pioneered the discovery of oil in Ghana he should be honored instead of being charged for causing financial loss to the state is logically incoherent. Is it possible that he pioneered the discovery of oil in Ghana but he also caused financial loss to the state. Let Mr Jonah examine the ULTRA VIRES doctrine and answer the question as to whether the chief executive of a corporation is at liberty to misapply the funds of the corporation that he manages. A chief executive has to operate within the bye-laws of his corporation. He is not above the law. Similarly Tsatsu did not have the liberty to invest the funds of GNPC in areas not mandated by GNPC's bye laws or enabling statute. Let's interprete the law strictly instead of introducing extraneous matters that will water down the full effect of the law. Jonah may be excused because he is an engineer by training and not a lawyer.
Oil find in Ghana - Sam Jonah Praises "Tsatsu Tsikata"
CK | UK-Financial loss of how much | 10/7/2008 2:57:00 PM
What financial loss are u talking about, the selective justice financial loss or his investment which is the loss to the state. If u read the article carefully, u would have noticed that he Tsatsu is a risk taker and not the type who do so bcos they are expecting something back but to make a name for himself and for mother Ghana.
U need a lot of courage to continue pursuing something that the whiteman says will not work but today he is languishing in jail as a victim of selective justice.
The law he is being convicted on was passed after he invested in that venture but bcos the govt is bent on nailing him, they brushed that aside and went on to spend the taxpayers money to pursue such a case which has sharply divided our country bcos most discerning Ghns smell some foul play in this case.
Why not charge him then for making profit on the investment in WestTel.
Let us honour our heroes and not punish them bcos we hate somebody. Sam thanks for being honest to the Ghn people bcos the NPP did not want to give any credit to Tsatsu for the oil find but u have put this case to rest once and for all.
God Bless Ghana.
