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| Photo credit ghanaweb |
The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) alleged quietness regarding the AGM's decision to withdraw from the transaction worth US$1.65 billion with the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), a sister company of the Norway-based Aker Energy, continues to surprise many.
It is said that the NDC has some valuable materials. that have worked in the energy ministry at various times and understand the botched transaction's fallout. Still, spectators have been stressed at the stunning quiet of the Minority, particularly those on the Mines and Energy Council.
Edward Bawa, who is also the ranking member and represents Bongo in the Upper East Region, John Jinapo, who represents Yapei-Kusawgu in the Savanna Region, Kwabena Donkor, who represents Pru East in the Bono East Region and Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, who represents Ellembele in the Western Region, are among them.
They have either been spokespersons, delegate clergy members or considerable pastors at the Energy Service. Curiously, they have kept an all-out quiet regarding this situation since news broke that the exchange had imploded because AGM had pulled out, giving over the oil some state authorities could sink over US$1.65 billion for nothing.
Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), notably The Africa Center for Energy Policy (ACEP) and Imani Africa have accepted the opposition party's responsibility of demanding accountability, particularly in the energy sector, despite the party's desperate efforts to be elected in 2024.
There is doubt that some NDC MPs cannot release their obligations since they are going through one illegal reflection or another while at the Energy Service. However, it has also been mentioned that some have friendships with Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, the Minister of Energy, and Dr Kofi Kodua Sarpong, also known as KK Sarpong, the former GNPC. As a result, they cannot carry out their parliamentary duties of holding the government accountable, particularly in the energy sector.
They have not been able to speak about Ghana Gas, the relocation of the Ameri power to the Ashanti Region and the outrageous cost being slapped on taxpayers, as well as the concerns from the staff of the Volta River Authority (VRA).
Investigations into the Genser Energy deal have also been put on the ice nearly seven months after the Mines and Energy Committee of parliament announced it was investigating the transaction, described as Genser's favourite honey deal, but highly hurting to the state. Indeed, there are claims of some inducement of state officials who were instrumental in the transaction with landed properties in and around Aburi.
Recently, in a joint statement, IMANI and ACEP called on President Nana Akufo-Addo, to commission an enquiry into the Aker-AGM transaction in which 15 months ago, the Ministry of Energy led by Dr Opoku Prempeh and GNPC under KK Sarpong, had wanted the state to acquire at US$1.65 billion partly.
According to the two respected Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), this "Inject a culture of accountability into the management of the petroleum industry and ensure that the country can count on leadership to avert paying hundreds of millions of dollars on avoidable transactions. This would also help to establish whether these were a series of honest mistakes or a case of capture of the state representatives.
The probe, the CSOs said, should "Establish the source of the overwhelming power Aker and AGM have had to dictate their terms in the oil industry since 2018 and the preferential treatment they have enjoyed. We are reminded that laws were changed to favour Aker, the role of the Petroleum Commission was watered down to lift Aker above our local content laws, and the interest of Explorco was zero-rated to provide an incentive for Aker, among other benefits".
In a statement, Imani Africa and ACEP welcomed AGM Petroleum's announcement to relinquish its interest in the South Deep-water Tano (SDWT) block, which hosts one discovery, the Nyankom-1X, from a drilling campaign embarked on by AGM in 2019.
They insisted that more needs to be done regarding this matter and the whole issue of Aker Energy's oil holdings in Ghana to ensure the rule of law and fair treatment for Ghana as the sovereign.
Imani Africa and ACEP, in a joint statement, called on President Akufo-Addo to commission an enquiry into the Aker-AGM transaction to: "Inject a culture of accountability into the management of the petroleum industry and ensure that the country can count on leadership to avert paying hundreds of millions of dollars on avoidable transactions. This would also help to establish whether these were a series of honest mistakes or a case of capture of the state representatives.
The inquiry is also to "Establish the source of the overwhelming power Aker and AGM have had to dictate their terms in the oil industry since 2018 and the preferential treatment they have enjoyed. We are reminded that laws were changed to favour Aker, the role of the Petroleum Commission was watered down to lift Aker above our local content laws, and the interest of Explorco was zero-rated to provide an incentive for Aker, among other benefits."
Last but not least, the group requests that the inquiry "after Aker hasn't submitted an acceptable Plan of Development in five years, recommend specific steps needed to develop the Pecan field as holder of the Deep-Water Tano Cape Three Points (DWT/CTP) block With abundant evidence indicating that Aker has not performed its contractual obligations to Ghana, it appears that the company will request the eleventh extension. Aker has received ten extensions.