Takoradi, May 4, GNA - Cabinet has approved the policy framework for the local content and participation in the petroleum activities to be presented to parliament.

The framework aims at ensuring that Ghanaians obtain maximum benefits from the oil find in the Western Region. Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, Deputy Minister for Energy, who announced on Tuesday at Takoradi, said government was committed to using the oil find to lift people out of poverty.

He said this in a speech read on his behalf at a forum on the local content and participation policy organised by the Ministry of Energy for chiefs, farmers, fishermen, fire personnel, students, District Chief Executives, religious leaders and opinion leaders from the Western Region in Takoradi.

Mr Buah said government intended to use proceeds of the oil and gas to diversify the economy to benefit all Ghanaians and minimize the negative social, economic and environmental effects associated with the oil wealth. The Deputy Minister stated that government would not concentrate on the oil and gas industry to the neglect of other sectors.

"We do not intend to allow oil and gas to crowd out other productive sectors of the economy. Gold, bauxite, manganese and diamond mining would continue to be important drivers of our economy," he explained. Mr Buah said cocoa and timber subsectors, tourism and the promotion of non-traditional exports would be improved.

He said the oil and gas revenue would be used to develop world class infrastructure all over the country such as roads, railways, bridges, telecommunication facilities, airports, and ports. "We will deliver social amenities ranging from schools to hospitals, and sanitation facilities across the length and breadth of the country," he added.

The Deputy Minister urged stakeholders to work together to ensure transparency in the oil and gas industry and said government was extending the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) to include the oil and gas sector.

Mr Buah said the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation and the Environmental Protection Agency have been tasked to ensure that operators abide by set standards with strict enforcement and adherence to residents' safety and security.

The participants called on the Ministry of Energy to organise series of seminars and programmes for the grassroots in the Western Region for them to have adequate knowledge about the oil and gas industry. The students, who participated in the forum, appealed to government to adequately resource schools' laboratories to enable students to improve upon their practical works.

The plea came after most of the resource persons had called on the students to reposition themselves to acquire skills to enable them gain employment in the oil and gas industry.

Generally the participants noted that capacity building was at the centre of the oil and gas industry and called on the authorities to ensure that this was done before the full operation begins. Mr Paul Evans Aidoo, Western Regional Minister stated in a speech read for him that a quota of job placement should be given to the indigenous people in the oil find area.

He appealed that specialist schools and institutions must be set up to train people in the oil and gas industry. 4 May 10