Tsatsu dares, counsels NPP Government

A former CEO of the Ghana National Petroleum Company (GNPC) Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata, has thrown a challenge to the government to come forth with the true state of the debt of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) if really they don't believe the figures the NDC has come out with.

According to him, the NDC still stand by their statements that TOR is indebted to the Ghana Commercial Bank alone in the excess of 500 million dollars despite the TOR Debt Recovery Levy initiated by the government in March 2003, which has grossed in excess of 500 million dollars.

He said if the government disputes the NDC figures then it should tell Ghanaians how much of the TOR debt has been paid and also how much has accrued from the TOR Debt Recovery Levy.

Mr. Tsikata said this in an interview with Ekourba Gyasi on ADOM Dwaso Nsem on Tuesday. The interactive interview had the former CEO of GPNC talking on a wide range of issues bordering on the country's energy sector.

He said the TOR debt if not properly managed can affect the micro economic stability of the country which in effect will pose problems for the next government.

Talking on the options available to the government in the midst of high cost of crude oil on the world Market, Mr. Tsikata said the government could consider reducing the tax on fuel prices or should have considered hedging.

According to him the government should not fear losing out should it consider to hedge the oil price. He also advised the government to shed the notion that hedging is a gamble because the fear alone can make one lose out.

Hedging is a betting mechanism employed by companies as a means of protection or control by speculating on the derivatives market against the risk of inflation in the country or to bet upon both sides of the coin, thus, guarding ones business against great loss.

Commenting on the recent call by the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) to government to make public all agreements signed on the country's crude oil to ensure transparency in negotiations, Mr. Tsikata urged the government to thread carefully on the suggestion since investors in the oil industry have confidential information which their competitors should not be privy to. He therefore urged that care be taken on the type of information published about the oil companies in order to protect their investments.

He said the government should be interested in how the country is going to benefit from the expenditures that the oil companies would be making during exploration activities in the country.

According to Tsatsu, the government should monitor this expenditure and find out how much of this amount would be spent on Ghanaian goods and services. He therefore called on government not to be interested only in the revenue that would be generated from the oil find but also in the expenditure.

Mr. Tsikata called on government to set up a monitoring team with the capacity to carefully monitor the expenditure of the companies to ensure that Ghana is not cheated in the process.

Credit: Kojo Addo (Adom FM)