ActOil revenues in Ghana, have within a decade, accumulated US$6.55 billion— US$3.3 billion (2011-2015); US$3.25 billion (2016-2020) — albeit, this does not reflect a similar show of ecstasy that greeted Ghana’s first discovery of oil; the degree of economic development in the local communities within whose jurisdiction these resources are extracted are ‘only next to nothing’ compared a decade ago.
What happened to us as a country? asked Ms. Elizabeth Vaah, Risk Manager, TD Bank in Canada and Leader of Ghana Environmental Advocacy Group, in an interview with the Vaultz News.
Years ago, under the presidency of John Agyekum Kufuor, during which time oil was discovered offshore for the first time, the famous words of the then President resonated: Ghana will be an “African Tiger”, during an interview with the BBC Focus Africa.
The former President is cited to have said that: “Even without oil, we are doing so well… With oil as a shot in the arm, we’re going to fly.”
What is the state of the local communities surrounding these resources:
“…The three districts of the Nzema area: Jomoro, Ellembelle and Evalue-Jira… We have gold being taken from there, we have now oil. This region is covering about 80% of the oil… but even then, if you visit the area, and you look at some of the communities, you will be surprised if really, these are areas that are contributing so much money into the national cake. The poverty there is real, and it leaves you wondering, who really does these agreements/contracts/laws, that forget that, if you are taking something from a community and they don’t really see any change in their lives, [someday], no matter how docile they are, at a point, they will begin asking questions and that is what is starting to happen. It’s a lot of unfairness. It’s just irresponsible on the part of the State.” — Elizabeth Vaah
Develop Fund for Oil Revenues Dedicated to Local Communities
Comparably, communities on whose lands gold is extracted are entitled to royalties — mining companies pay up to 5% of their total revenues as royalties to the state, and of that, the government transfers 20% to the Minerals Development Fund. However, mining communities are still not getting their due, as royalties transferred into the MDF in 2020 was less 7% out of the 20% required to be transferred into the MDF. Indeed, there is something fundamentally wrong, she surmised.
Ms. Elizabeth Vaah opined that, with the country’s oil and gas resource, “the right thing to do, when you earmark these funds is to put it in an independently managed fund with knowledgeable people [managing it].”
“People who can independently assess the needs of the communities based on input from the communities themselves and whatever prioritization is assigned to which thing. A more inclusive way of deciding what is most needed by the communities and how best to provide, away from the political trickery.”
“Because, if you put these things in the hands of the politicians, then they decide what to do, when to do it and who to give it to, based on their own criteria and interests. So, at the end of the day, you will see things being done in places where it has little impact on the people”.
— Elizabeth Vaah
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