THE POLITICS OF OIL DISCOVERY IN GHANA ; WHO DISCOVER THE OIL ?

The discovery of oil in Ghana in large quantities has been politicized . Recently the New Patriotic Party under the former president His Excellency John Agyekum Kufour , were claiming that because the Omnipotent God , the provider of all things , loves them that was why God sent down the oil during their time for them to discover it so credit should be given to them.

For instance , a former Minister of Energy under NPP administration sent a bottle containing sample of the oil to Parliament as an evidence indicating that it was their time that the oil was discovered . we have been told that Ex President Kwame Nkrumah knew there were significant oil deposits in some parts of Western and Volta Regions that was why he established Tema Oil Refinery [ TOR ].

Also the National Democratic Congress [ NDC ] under the former President , His Excellency Flt J.J. Rawlings with the collaboration of Ghana National Petroleum Corporation [GNPC ] under Tsatsu Tsikata, claimed and are claiming that they discovered the oil before they left office in 2001. The Daily Graphic edition on Wednesday , Feb. 16, 2000. No 147835, front page carried a story “ GHANA STRIKES OIL , GAS in significant quantities in Tano Basin ”. By Joe Bradford Nyinah. The story said that a British Company , DANA PETROLEUM prospecting in Ghana off the shores of the Western Region is said to have struck oil in significant quantities . According to the report carried by UPSTREAM NEWS, A London based oil magazine quoted figures as 200 million and 300 billion cubic feet of oil and gas respectively as possible reserves on the Tano fields . The paper further quoted Mr. Iain Reid , an oil analyst as saying “ it is looking good so far but there are still some significant uncertainties to be resolved ”. The paper also quoted Nana Opoku Acheampong , then Deputy Director of Public Affairs at the Office of the President under Mr. Rawlings , as saying he recalled that in early 1970s , the then Minister of Lands and Mineral Resources , Mr. R. R. Amponsah , held a press conference and presented a bottle of crude oil as evidence that Ghana had discovered oil but nothing happened afterwards . He noted according to the paper that, a commercial find would be“ God's millennium gift for the country”. Sounds very prophetic .

The question therefore, is who discovered the oil ? The oil discovery is God's gift . lets don't politicize it.

EDWARD KWEKU ARHURST , A . U .C. C., BOX LG 510 , LEGON –ACCRA . GHANA . kwekhurst@yahoo.com

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