UK-Interests Are Fronting and Opposing Fair-Trade Oil Share/PSA for Ghana? (1.0)
By Prof Lungu
Of late, effort at transparency and accountability for Ghana's Oil and Gas has focused on "Revenue Management in the interest of Ghana".
We will note straight up that the British Government was of course protecting its own interests and the interests of Tullow when they committed to spending almost $30 million of British tax-payer money during 2015-2019 to "assist Ghana" with "revenue management" of Ghana's Oil and Gas. (The program is the so-called Ghana Oil and Gas for Inclusive Governance (GOGIG).
As far as we can see, there is little growth and inclusive development for Ghana as GOGIG has been conceptualized and structured.
It is not rocket science!
You have to first get your fair share of Oil and Gas revenues before you can manage your Oil and Gas revenues for growth, inclusivity, equity, and sustainability.
The last we learned, the Daily Graphic was requesting thousands of cedis before they would publish any policy paper about the call for Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) for Ghana's Oil and Gas, the fair trade alternative.
But, the Daily Graphic has published many articles on GOGIG, the Ghana "Oil and Gas Revenue Trojan Horse", for free!
Further, we have also learned that several Ghanaians in Ghana are being threatened by some politicians and bureaucrats for obscure "security reasons". Why? Because those independent-minded Ghanaians oppose the fraudulent Ghana Hybrid System, exactly the wheels under the "Revenue Management Trojan Horse". Rather, those Ghana-centered individuals support the PSA campaign. They want the best for Ghana with respect to Ghana's Oil and Gas public policy. But instead, some self-important nonentities are talking about "national security implications".
"National security implications" for opposing the fraudulent Ghana Hybrid System?
Our "foot"!
MESSAGE TO GHANA MEDIA & TELEVISION:
Any member of the Ghanaian press, including the Daily Graphic, Ghana News Agency (GNA), the Trade Union Congress (TUC), and others that have ever attended any presentations, briefings, workshops, training session, etc., organized under the auspices of GOGIG, any such persons that benefited directly in any form (transportation, lunch, hotel, training, allowance, etc), must recognize that they are wittingly (or unwittingly) a part of the Revenue Management Trojan Horse for Ghana's Oil and Gas. That is, unless they challenge the GOGIG premise by asking why Ghana is getting only 17% when other countries are getting better than 55%!
It is a New Year
It is a New Era!
In 2016, Ghanaians and Ghana Supporters must stand up for what is right!
We must inform (or reiterate for those who know already) that while the British have been serving their own interests and carrying water for private interests in the United States, Ghanaians has been losing billions of dollars from deficient, non-standard Oil and Gas agreements for revenues due Ghana but never collected in the first place.
The WORLD BANK AND THE IMF?
We know that the World Bank and the IMF are not charitable agencies. We know that they do not care much how Ghanaian politicians prioritizes Ghana's development goals and objectives just as long as they know they will get the money they loan to Ghana, plus interest. (Needless to say, the World Bank and the IMF are in part responsible for the continued under-development of Nkrumah's Ghana as they've continued to under-value Ghana's resources).
GOGIG PROGRAM MANAGER AND GHANA PETROLEUM MINISTER:
Here is a $6 billion question for the GOGIG Program manager, the Ghana Petroleum Minister (Mr. Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah) and his deputy, (Mr. Benjamin Kwaku Dagadu):
Can you, in your infinite wisdom, tell Ghanaians how Ghana can manage revenues Ghana never collects in the first place, even though Ghana would be entitled to those revenues under the sovereign-centric global standard agreement, the PSA?
OTHER AGENCIES AND NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS:
In addition, some agencies in Ghana are opposing, fronting, or otherwise resisting the fair trade PSA for Ghana's Oil and Gas. In fact, 5 (five) such co-opted, non-neutral organizations and/or their leadership have received, or are still receiving funding from the GOGIG or other UK/USA sources. As such, they are no longer de facto neutral with respect to the FTOS-Gh/PSA policy debate.
Will the following organizations and agencies in Ghana, or operating in Ghana, tell Ghanaians how much money they have received from any British- or American-sponsored initiative that promoted the GOGIG Trojan Horse while flatly ignoring and trivializing the PSA policy argument?
The organizations are:
To be continued!
NOTES/SOURCES:
1. Ghana Oil and Gas for Inclusive Growth (GOGIG), (http://www.opml.co.uk/projects/ghana-oil-and-gas-inclusive-growth-gogig).
2. Mr. Simon Smith, UK Ambassador to Ukraine, on PSA (2013) . So
Ukraine can have PSA, but not Nkrumah's Ghana? (http://ghanahero.com/FTOS_GH_Campaign.html).
3. GHANAHERO.COM & PROF LUNGU POLICY ON SOURCES:
Our essays are data- and evidence-driven. But they are not written to the standards of a journal or peer review article. We only provide detailed sources and references to serious persons and entities, from an intellectual frame of reference. Contact us via www.GhanaHero.com, if you need a copy of a final paper on any subject we've tackled. Contact us, too, if you need a copy of a document we've referenced or discussed in any paper, including this one.
4. Support the Fair Trade Oil Share-Ghana (FTOS-GH) Campaign. Visit www.GHanaHero.Com/FTOS_Gh_Campaign, for more information.
GhanaHero.com. WWW.GhanaHero.com.
Visit for more information.
(Read Mo! Listen Mo! See Mo! Reflect Mo!).
©Prof Lungu is Ghana-Centered/Ghana-Proud.
Prof Lungu is based in Washington DC, USA.
UK-Interests Are Fronting and Opposing Fair-Trade Oil Share/PSA for Ghana? (1.0)
Brought to you courtesy www.GhanaHero.com©2 December, 2015.