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Felix Kwakye Ofosu is a former Deputy Minister of Information
Former Deputy Information Minister Felix Kwakye Ofosu accused President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of “fighting” against civil society organizations (CSOs) who have expressed divergent views on Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and the Aker Agreement.
He also accused the president of spying on CSOs.
“So now the Akufo-Addo / Bawumia government is waging an all-out war of attrition against a coalition of CSOs who have expressed concern about the GNPC-Aker deal by listening to their conversations and deliberately distorting them. Who would have thought, ”Felix said in a Facebook post.
Some CSO activists, including Bright Simons, Honorary Vice-President of Imani Ghana, rebutted the GNPC’s reasoning for getting the deal done.
Bright Simons said that GNPC’s explanation of wanting to become a major operator in oil production in Ghana was “outright nonsense.”
“Suffice it to say that the transition from GNPC to operating OSWT and SDWT has been a technical disaster of sheer unproductiveness.
He and his colleagues were described in the headlines of a section of pro-government media in Ghana as being anti-Ghana following their objection.
This sparked the concern of the executive director of the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Professor H Kwasi Prempeh, who rejected the characterization of CSOs and activists as anti-Ghana.
In a Facebook post, Professor Prempeh said: “Anti-Ghana Paaa? Are you sure it’s not the pot calling the black kettle? Although they use the usual ways and means to do what they want, they don’t want others to have a say. Such a totalitarian state of mind. You are not convinced that this cherished deal was made with little or no real scrutiny or opposition; now more must be done to tarnish and slander those who have sought to ask critical questions about this transaction. And as usual, “economic nationalism” is the convenient screen.
“Just because it is the GNPC that acquires the interests does not necessarily mean a good deal or a good deal for Ghana. On the contrary, it is precisely because it is the GNPC that buys, and with money borrowed in a non-market transaction, that the deal deserves further consideration in the national interest, and not the treatment of pure usual form of Parliament. It’s not as if we ignore the track record of our state-owned enterprises in managing state assets! We also have the record of other NOCs on the continent, including Nigeria and Angola.
“Why don’t they let the private foreign owner try to raise through a private placement in the capital markets well over $ 1 billion in these COVID times for the interest he seeks to offload and see how much interest it gets from investors who have to risk their own, not other people’s money. And when some informed citizens dare to raise questions about the deal, the compradores tag them against Ghana. You don’t want to be asked questions, do you? You people just have too much of an easy time in this city.
GNPC, through GNPC Explorco, is licensed to participate in the upstream petroleum sector and plans to purchase a 70% stake in South Deep Water Tano (SDWT) operated by AGM Petroleum Ghana Limited and a 37% stake in the Deep Water Tano. / Cape Three Points (DWT / CTP) operated by Aker Energy Ghana Limited.
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