A coalition of 29 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Ghana has called for the immediate removal of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Opoku Ahweneeh Danquah.
In addition, they are calling for the removal of the Board Chairman, Freddie Blay.
The demand for the removal of the two men comes after GNPC announced its intention to sell a 50% stake in Jubilee Holdings Limited (JOHL) to PetroSA, a South African oil company.
The CSOs accused the two men of working against the interests of the state as their decision could have significant negative impacts on Ghana’s interests.
The CSOs include the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers Ghana (COPEC), the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), the Imani Centre for Policy and Education the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers Ghana (COPEC) as well as 25 others.
The Coordinator for the coalition, Abdul Karim Mohammed, addressed the press on Tuesday, May 23, to voice their concerns.
According to Mr. Mohammed, the continuous presence of individuals closely associated with petroleum operations, such as Danquah and Blay, poses significant risks to Ghana’s interests.
The CSOs allege that the Energy Minister, Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh, is against the decision by GNPC’s Board Chairman, Mr. Blay, to offer interest in Ghana’s oil fields to PetroSA.
Mr. Blay is said to have written to PetroSA offering an equal split in the interest held by GNPC’s subsidiary, Jubilee Oil Holdings Ltd.
“It is a viable field, and it is giving us a lot of money if we allow this to go forward. What it means is that PetroSA will be entitled to 50 percent of the earnings from the field, whereas they have not had any role in developing the field to the point where it is now viable,” Mr. Mohammed explained.
The coalition believes that the sale of the stake to PetroSA could lead to significant revenue losses for the state and that the decision to sell the stake was made without proper consultation with stakeholders and the public.
The CSOs are calling for the immediate removal of Danquah and Blay, and for the government to take appropriate action to protect Ghana’s interests in the oil and gas sector.
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Source: Aba Aikins/ATLFMNEWS
