Publicise Oil & Mining Contracts, Now

Ghana is reportedly ranked 15 th on the latest World Mining Index. The index is said to list 58 mining countries across the globe, and rates the level of transparency in each country's mining sector.

At 5 th position, Ghana emerges as the best country in sub-Saharan Africa to have undertaken major reforms to enthrone transparency in the mining industry.

However, according to the African Centre for Energy Policy, Ghana was criticised for not publishing all mining and oil contracts.

The ACEP also urged the government to comply with all international transparency protocols Ghana has signed.

The Chronicle backs, totally, all calls on the government to publish all mining and oil contracts awarded both to locals and foreigners.

Unless there are national security considerations, such full disclosure would enhance the government's own image, as not being corrupt-minded.

Besides security concerns, the only other consideration that we find would obstruct full disclosure would be contracts in the form of political patronage to ruling government and party officials.

Such contracts are a sine qua non that no political party would dare refuse to award to its businessmen sponsors and footsoldiers.

Since such is our reality, The Chronicle would suggest that we make it a national policy to award oil contracts or blocks in the name of each registered political party, while all others should be by competitive tendering.

Such party oil contracts or blocks would be managed on behalf of each party by its incumbent National Executive Committee, and the proceeds used to run the party and fund its presidential campaigns.

This would nip in the bud the suspended debate for state funding of political parties. It would also obviate the necessity for the government in power to twist the arms of contractors to pay 10 per cent of contract sums into party coffers.

A few parliamentary sessions back, where this payment was made, created a public spat between the President and his party chairman.

With this modified state funding of political parties, no presidential candidate need file for bankruptcy for losing an election, or attempt to wrestle power by any means possible. In other words, bitter election results would be more easily palatable..

In addition to the publication of oil and mining contracts, the Right to Information bill should also be enacted into law to make information on the oil industry more accessible to help combat non-party corrupt public officials, whose greed may compromise the integrity of their offices.

The Oil and Minerals Act stipulates how our oil revenues should be disbursed. Therefore, calls on government to disclose how the money is used, in the absence of concrete evidence of misuse, is untenable.

A country that relies on its trading partners and other donors to balance its budget, cannot, but spend its share of oil revenues to plug shortfalls in its budget.