....To Mute Sentiments Over Oil

By Liberty Amewode, News Editor

The growing sentiment of alienation and marginalization among people in the Western Region should be muted with the establishment, as matter of urgency, of a Western Regional Development Fund to facilitate accelerated development of the region, it has been suggested.

The Western Region Development Forum, which made the recommendation in a communiqué issued in Takoradi at the end of a two-day workshop, also proposed the relocation of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and the headquarters of the Oil and Gas industry to the Region “to promote the spatial planning of Ghana”.

The forum, based on the theme: “Preparing Minds and Space with Respect to the Oil and Gas Culture”, brought together representatives of Traditional Rulers, Civil Society and Community Based Organizations of the Western Region and was facilitated by Nana Kobina Nketsia IV Trust with the support of Tullow Oil Ghana, Skyy Media Group, the Ghana Office of the World Bank, Friends of the Nation and the Coastal Resources Centre Ghana.
The issue of who gets what from the proceeds of the oil sale continues to dominate most forums that deliberate on how best the country can distribute the wealth to be gotten from the oil industry.
While the people of the Western Region consider the oil fields to be their own and are asking for a lion’s share of proceeds, others are of the view that the resource belongs to all Ghanaians and should therefore be distributed equally among the regions.
According to the former, the Region’s substantial natural resource contribution to the national economy, being the largest producer of Cocoa; largest contributor of Timber; sole producer of Rubber and second highest producer of Gold with the potential to become the highest if current rate of prospecting continues, put it in a good stead to have been the most developed region in Ghana.
However, the forum noted, in spite of the immense community, personal and ecological sacrifices that have been made with these contributions from the Western Region, the people and the communities in the Region have not derived proportionate and commensurate benefits in terms of development.
“The current infrastructural underdevelopment and, among others, poor health facilities and services, poor road networks, high illiteracy levels, high unemployment and out-migration of the youth, high school drop out rate and a very low school enrolment are what the Region could boast of”, it said.
The Oil boom in Region, according to reports, is already hurting citizens and residents in increasing rents, prices, congestion and pressure on land use and services.
The forum therefore called for the structuring of the Oil and Gas Local Content Bill such that it should achieve an emotional socio-economic integration between the Oil and Gas Industry and local Communities.
“The Duty-bearers in the Oil and Gas industry should, as a matter of urgency, develop a regional capacity for adequate and comprehensive responses to any disaster or mass casualty that may result from the activities of the oil and gas industry that incorporates the upgrading and the improvement of the capacity of the existing accident and emergency centre”, the forum proposed, adding further that plans for a Regional Teaching Hospital should be fast tracked.
The forum also called for the development of Sekondi-Takoradi into an Industrial hub for Oil and Gas, Agro Business, Finance and Tourism.
The workshop, having deliberated on the potential impact of the oil and gas industry on the other sectors of the regional economy: forestry, solid minerals, Agric, fisheries, noted the importance of harnessing corporate social responsibilities for the development of the Region and agreed that the chiefs and people of the Region should hold an Annual Congress to review the socio-economic development and unity of the region.
The participants called for a united and integrated approach to urban planning and an integrated spatial development of the Region.
They resolved that the Nana Kobina Nketsia IV Trust should facilitate the formation of a Western Region Development Working Group in consultation with the Regional House of Chiefs by 31st October 2010.
On health and safety, the workshop urged rapid response capacity to contain any major disasters and mass causalities, calling on the Oil, Mining and Other companies operating in the Region to work closely with the Regional authorities, the House of Chiefs and the communities to develop a comprehensive regional CSR plan. businessanalystgh@yahoo.com


Solving The Gas Shortage Once & For All
NPA ROPES IN PRIVATE COMPANIES
….Licenses Them to Build Storage Plants
By Liberty Amewode, News Editor

At least three petroleum companies have been licensed to build massive storage houses for Liquefied Petroleum Gas(LPG), a move anticipated to provide the magic wand to solve, once and for all, the product’s shortage which befell the Ghanaian market lately.
The project, which will involve the importation, offloading, storage and distribution of LPG, is expected to commence within three months and will take between 18 to 24 months to complete.
LPG by its nature is air, and its storage poses a great challenge. A leakage can be disastrous, due to its inflammable character and for this reason the technology to construct its storehouses needs to be imported.
And according to the Public Relations officer of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Yaro Kasambata, the constructions will take such a long time because of the precision needed in putting up such structures.
“There should be no mistakes else, there would be catastrophic consequences”, he said.
He told the Business Analyst exclusively on phone last Sunday that the three selected companies were the ones that have so far fulfilled the strict regime of selection instituted by the Authority.
Mr. Kasambata mentioned the licensed companies to be FuelTrade Ghana Ltd, Cirrus Petroleum Ltd and Chase Petroleum, indicating that more companies are interested in the deal and will be licensed as soon as they satisfy the criteria.
As it stands now, the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) is the only entity that has the capacity to produce and store LPG in the country and according to Alex Mould, Acting Chief Executive of NPA, “if something happens to TOR, we are finished”.
Speaking to journalists on a tour of the facility days earlier, he said the refinery has the capacity to produce 250metric tonnes of LPG daily with a storage capacity of 6500 metric tonnes. Meanwhile the daily demand for the product is 800 to 1000 metric tonnes, a situation that depicts a shortfall in supply of close to 800 metric tonnes.
Mr. Mould put the blame squarely on commercial vehicles which have taken to the use of the product instead of the normal fuel for vehicles.
He suggested the removal of subsidies on the product, saying the government could use the proceeds to expand or build another refinery to take care of the market.
As an interim measure, the NPA boss said his outfit has decided to step up production and also bring in more of the product. This, he said will result in saturating the market and, in one measure, solving the problem. businessanalystgh@yahoo.com