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Civil society organizations in the extractive sector are calling for a review of business governance structure of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC).
Defenders worry about what they describe as excessive politicization of the state entity.
The Ghanaian Oil and Gas Industry for Inclusive Growth (GOGIG) and the Ghana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (GHEITI) are leading the call.
The appeal was launched in Kumasi on the sidelines of a discussion on the reports on the 2015/2016 in mining, oil and gas and the pilot project of commodity trading in Ghana.
GNPC was created to lead the sustainable exploration, development, production and disposal of Ghana's oil resources, leveraging the right mix of domestic and foreign investments in partnership with the people of Ghana.
GNPC is sad political conflicts, the latest being an administrative war between the chief executive and the president of the council location from a purchasing manager.
Politicization of GNPC
Co-chair of the Ghana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (GHEITI), Dr. Steve Manteaw, believes that development is dangerous for investors.
"… in fact, previous governments have done the same, but it seems that the whole problem of the politicization of a national business entity as strategic as the GNPC has been compounded by this government."
Mr. Manteaw added that the situation had worsened to the point: "In some ways, it seems that the GNPC is seen as an extension of the bureaucracy of the NPP where the party chairman chairs the board of directors. then the instrumentation of the same party president appointing the former junior youth organizer to the position of CEO of the GNPC Foundation ".
According to him, the situation sends bad signals regarding the expectations of the international community in terms of GNP depoliticization and allow it to function as a purely commercial entity.
Effects on the 2020 elections
GNPC was created to represent Ghana's commercial interests in oil production and, as a commercial entity, it is expected to realize profits and pay dividends to the state.
Civil society organizations say that the situation in which the GNPC has abandoned its fundamental mandate of exploring oil and even engaging in oil production, and incurring or financing expenditures, is bad.
They argue that the additional mandates of the GNPC became the responsibility of the government to finance through the budget.
Manteaw fears that the government is using GNPC to facilitate near-physical spending in the 2020 elections, if the current quarrel is not resolved.
"What particularly worries me is that if Ghanaians do not pay attention, in the 2020 elections, many quasi-physical expenses will be incurred by GNPC through its foundation in order to make it more affordable." ostensibly influence the outcome of the 2020 elections ".
He fears that in the absence of precaution, Ghana is not taking full advantage of its discovery of oil in commercial quantities.
Review of corporate governance
In addition, Ghana Oil and Gas for Inclusive Growth (GOGIG) said the GNPC's corporate governance structure needed to be re-examined.
Samuel Bekoe, technical consultant at GOGIG, said the existing corporate governance within the GNPC needed examination.
He says that the political capture in the GNPC sometimes seems embarrbading because of some information circulating about it.
According to him, in the previous government and in the current government, it was the same and the government should review the corporate governance structure.
"… We should have a discussion on this issue and look at what are the corporate governance measures that will help GNPC become an independent government business in the near future.
"We need better corporate governance with regards to how we select people for GNPC, GNPC employment, GNPC purchases, the holder of the procedure. operating standard, etc. ".
Bekoe said the situation was neither pleasant for Ghanaians nor pleasant for investors.
The GNPC should no longer receive government subsidies or produce oil and gas independently 15 years after Ghana's arrival on oil in 2007.
GNPC's strategic vision is to become an independent oil producer, so we do not want to end up as NNPC or PETROBRAS, whose activities affected the economies of Nigeria and Brazil respectively.
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