The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Petroleum Commission Ghana, Mr. Egbert Faibille Jnr has urged policy makers to focus on rolling out sector policies that are sustainability.
Represented by Mr. Prince Benjamin Aboagye, Deputy CEO of the Commission at the 3rd Africa Oil and Gas Local Content (ALC) Sustainability Summit indicated that sustainable policy framework should be a long term in approach, undergo an extensive consultative process, be risk-based and research-driven, identify sector priorities and promote sectorial linkages.
He noted that the policy makers should also establish the right institutional frameworks, a robust implementation strategy, that are flexible and adaptable to changing the industry and macro circumstances, promote trade associations, corporative and chamber of commerce.
This, Mr Aboagye stressed will empower the indigenous enterprises with strong bargaining power.
“A sustainable content policy when properly rolled out will significantly transform the short term benefits of natural resource extractions into long term local economic development outcomes. This would be achieved through a systematic implementation of the factors mentioned above.”
In his speech, the Minister for Energy, John Peter Amewu who was represented by the Chief Director of the ministry, Lawrence Apaalse said, “The ministry of Energy on its part, has worked closely with relevant stakeholders over the years to create an enabling legal and regulatory regime aimed at ensuring transparent, accountable, prudent management of Ghana’s petroleum resources.”
He stated, “With the enabling policy environment and institutional support led by the Petroleum Commission and its abled CEO, the GNPC and the technocrats and their CEOs, some Ghanaian companies are now playing active roles along the value chain of the petroleum industry in Ghana both upstream and downstream.”
He added that the ministry will encourage all initiatives that will take advantage of the huge local content investment opportunities in the oil and gas supply value chain.
Dr. Kofi Koduah Sarpong, CEO of Ghana National Petroleum Corporation admonished all stakeholders involved to collectively share and translate the local content policy ideas and strategies into workable solutions backed by the necessary legislation.
He urges them to ensure compliance and translate them into values to the benefit of our society after the conference.
The Member of Parliament for Damango Constituency and Minority Spokesperson on Mines and Energy, Mutawakilu Adam indicated that the “… Local Content Policy will bring all the diverse ideas as to how we can maximize the oil resources that we have. And therefore it also synchronizes all the various Local Content LI and policies to one document that any IOC that comes to Ghana, the Local Content laws that applies here are the same as other countries…it sort of prevent the IOC from exploiting the various leakages in the various countries.”
He added that in providing local content services and others, it is important to uphold value which should be very critical to consider and not the numbers. It isn’t about quantity but rather the value that is retained in the economy.
The 3rd Africa Oil and Gas Local Content Sustainability Summit was held at the MÖvenpick Ambassador Hotel, Accra, Ghana from 10th – 11th October, 2019.
The dignitaries present include Mutawakilu Adam, MP for Damango; Dr. Kofi Koduah Sarpong, CEO of GNPC; Lawrence Apaalse, Chief Director of the Ministry of Energy who represented the Energy Minister, John Peter Amewu and Mr. Prince Benjamin Aboagye, Deputy CEO of Petroleum Commission who stood in for the CEO of the Commission, Mr. Egbert Faibille Jnr.
The rest were Mahad Ahmed, Managing Director, AMETRADE Ltd; Mahaman Laouan Gaya, Secretary General, APPO.
