.... IN THE OIL AND GAS REGION OF GHANA

The School of Research and Graduate Studies (SORAGS) of the Institute of Professional Studies (IPS) is to conduct an eighteen (18) month research project focused on providing a managerial framework for traditional leaders in a bid to maximize the benefits from natural resources specifically land in the oil and gas region of Ghana.

This follows the award of a hundred thousand (£100,000) Pounds Sterling contract, funded by the Department for International Development, (DFID) of the United Kingdom, through the Association of African Universities (AAU), under the Mobilizing Regional Capacity Initiative (MRCI) programme run by the association.

The study, which will be conducted in the Western Region of Ghana, will be done in collaboration with the University of Calabar in Nigeria, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC). The team of researchers will examine the topic, “Enhancing Management of Natural Resources through the Empowerment of Traditional Leaders in the Oil and gas Region in Ghana towards Poverty Reduction”.

Signing the contract, the Acting Secretary General of the Association of African Universities (AAU), Professor John Ssebuwufu, congratulated IPS especially the Dean of SORAGS Rev. Mrs. Goski Alabi and her team of researchers, for winning what he described as a tight competition at a first time try especially when it was open to all member Universities on the African Continent. He noted that there are other benefits available to member institutions, their staff and students. These include small grants for research projects and participation in international conferences among others. He therefore urged all members of the AAU to honor their obligations to the Association in order for them to enjoy the benefits and to ensure the Association’s forward movement.

The Rector of IPS, Professor Joshua Alabi, in signing the terms of the contract assured the Association of the Institute’s willingness to continue honoring its financial obligations. He promised that the research project will be executed on time and in conformity with the Terms of Reference.

According to the Dean of SORAGS, Rev. Mrs. Goski Alabi, maximizing the benefits from natural resources require changes in management which stakeholders must be made to understand and appreciate in order to push forward the fight against poverty.

The study will assess the needs of traditional leaders and other stakeholders as far as management of such resources are concerned with special focus on land usage in the recently discovered oil and gas region in Ghana and explore alternative ways of management with the view of providing a kind of working document for these leaders with the aim of increasing the benefits of the resources to the current generation without compromising the interest of the future generation. Once these needs have been identified, training workshops will be organized for them.

The Mobilizing Regional Capacity Inititiative (MRCI) is a programme of the Association of African Universities which has been in existence since 2007. Its aim is to build regional capacity to support African Higher Education Institutions to promote sustainable development to meet the Millennium Development Goals. It is funded by the Department for International Development (DFID), United Kingdom.The Study takes off on the 26th of July, 2010.

Gifty Andoh Appiah (giftdot@yahoo.com)