Akufo Addo's Temporary Ban On Petroleum Contracts Is A Big Hoax! (Part 2)

25.11.2017 LISTEN

"... Oil in the ground in Ghana that currently does not have a contract for those lots will not spoil or depreciate in 1 year, if ever... . We know that a recent report by KOSMOS showed that KOSMOS did not strike even a pint of oil...in Mauritania... . Clause (3) of...Act 919 stipulates that "A petroleum agreement shall only be entered into after an open, transparent and competitive public tender process...". So, what exactly is Ghana going to lose by suspending negotiations with...ExxonMobil?... . Why, after nearly a year in power, why has the Akufo Addo Government not "operationalized" Act 919?... . Why is Dr. Amin Adam not using the other side of his mouth to demand every Oil Contract be reviewed so Ghanaians know exactly who owns what piece, what block, what contract?...", (Prof Lungu, 16 November, 2017-rev).

The recent announcement by Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, formerly of the UK -DFID-funded ACEP, and now the Deputy Energy Minister, is a mighty big hoax.

It is nothing less than a grab for power and resources that belong to all Ghanaians.

It is a mighty big hoax being perpetrated by Dr. Amin Adam and the oil interests in Ghana to siphon oil contract cash into their own pockets in secrecy.

All of Ghana's oil in the ground that currently do not have a contract for those lots will not spoil or depreciate in 1 year, if ever.

Even with all its flaws, Section 10, Clause (3), of the 2016 Petroleum and Exploration Act, Act 919, stipulates that:

"....A petroleum agreement shall only be entered into after an open, transparent and competitive public tender process...".

All that, before the Act provides under that same Section, Clause (5):

"....Where all or part of the area offered for tender in a public tender process has not become the subject of a petroleum agreement,...the Minister...may initiate direct negotiations with a qualified body corporate for a petroleum agreement....".

So, why, the Fair Trade Oil Share-Ghana (FTOS/Gh) Campaign wants to know, after nearly a year in power, why has the Akufo Addo Government not swiftly operationalized Act 919 by setting up standard and protocols for "open, transparent and competitive public tender process"?

Why is Deputy Minister Dr. Amin Adam now saying nothing like that will occur until "the middle of next year"?

Is this not the same Amin Adam who over the years, sitting at ACEP, had been asking for the same fairness for Ghana, before he became "Deputy"?

Why is Dr. Amin Adam now telling Ghanaians the Akufo Addo government has ".... placed a short-term ban on the award of fresh petroleum contracts until requisite regulations that will allow for an open and competitive bidding processes are enacted....by the middle of next year."

What month and day, sirs?
Are we serious?
Why?
Why not suspend all contract issuance until that same "middle of next year", when protocols and standards of performance for transparent tendering and open bidding have been vetted, established, and the public sensitized to those standards?

What is behind the Minister and his Deputy now opting to directly negotiate with oil interests in the backroom, without sunshine in the public interest?

Isn't Ghana reviewing the AMERI contract, and have some energy contracts not been cancelled by this same government?

So, tell us what the precise Ghanaian interest is, Dr. Amin Adam, in rushing to award contracts before Act 919 has been "operationalized"?

Why?
We know that a recent report by KOSMOS showed that KOSMOS did not strike even a pint of oil in their exploration efforts in Mauritania, that this had the effect of making Ghana's oil resources under the ground even more valuable to KOSMOS and a whole lot of other companies, COMPETITORS, if we must re-direct Dr. Adam's attention.

Tell them what exactly Ghana is going to lose by suspending negotiations with "American oil giant, ExxonMobil", for 7 months, President Akufo Addo!

What, Dr. Amin Adam, is the review of the AMERI deal by Ghana but just another "retroactive" review of a potentially one-sided energy deal that is not entirely defensible as supportive of Ghanaian interests, contrasted with corporations taking from Ghanaians oil they do not own, oil they have not fully earned as contractors?

And while we are at it, tell us, Dr. Amin Adam, why are you not using the other side of your mouth to demand every Oil Contract be reviewed immediately so Ghanaians know exactly who owns what piece, what block, what paper, what contract?

To the point, what happened to Dr. Amin Adam's fight for all that information about "Beneficial Ownership" while he was sitting on the outside, and the government was under the purview of the Mahama NDC?

What gives, Dr. Amin Adam?
What gives, President Akufo Addo?
So it goes, Ghana!
SOURCES & NOTES
1. Government places temporary ban on petroleum contract negotiations, Ghanaweb, at: (https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Government-places-temporary-ban-on-petroleum-contract-negotiations-600805).

2. Govt urged to operationalise, by Petroleum Act, by Ms. JESSICA ACHEAMPONG, 19 APRIL 2017, at https://www.graphic.com.gh/business/business-news/govt-urged-to-operationalise-petroleum-act.html

Visit www.GhanaHero.Com/Visions, for more information.

SUBJ: Akufo Addo's "Temporary Ban" on Petroleum Contracts is a Big Hoax (Part 2)!

Support Fair-Trade Oil Share Ghana (FTOS-Gh) Campaign/Petition:

https://www.change.org/p/ghana-fair-trade-oil-share-psa-campaign-ftos-gh-psa/