Equatorial Guinea To Share Experience With Ghana On Oil And Gas

President Evans John Atta Mills

President John Evans Atta Mills has held bilateral talks with President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea, and impressed on that country to share the best practices in oil and gas industry with Ghana.

President Mills said such best practices would ensure that revenue generated from the sector was judiciously used for the benefit of the people of Ghana.

President Mills is in Equatorial Guinea to attend the inauguration of President Mbasogo, who won a landslide victory in a general election in November.

The meeting between the two leaders was held behind closed doors. Briefing the Daily Graphic on the bilateral talks, Mr Koku Anyidoho, the Director of Communications at the Presidency, said President Mills indicated that his government would be delighted to learn from Equatorial Guinea the various safeguards that Ghana should put in place to prevent misappropriation of oil revenue by people in position of trust and responsibility, as well as the various interest groups associated with the industry.

According to Mr Anyidoho, President Mills said Ghanaians expected the government to use revenue from the oil industry to undertake projects that would enable them to live decent and meaningful lives.

President Mills pointed out that in order to meet the expectations of the broad masses of the people, the government was leaving no stone unturned to ensure maximum transparency and fairness in the mobilisation and usage of revenue from the oil sector.

The President noted that the government held in trust for the people of Ghana oil that had been discovered in the country in commercial quantities and, for which reason, would use revenue from the sector to improve the material conditions of the people.

The President also appealed to Equatorial Guinea to share its technical expertise in the oil industry with Ghana for the mutual benefit of the two countries and called for the renewal of the Ghana-Equatorial Guinea Joint Commission for Co-operation to enable the two countries to explore more areas of economic co-operation.

For his part, President Mbasogo praised Ghana for its democratic credentials, which had attracted so much commendation in the comity of nations, adding that Equatorial Guinea was proud to have developed relations with the people of Ghana.

He also commended President Mills for displaying sterling qualities ever since he assumed office as leader of Ghana.