MP Exposes Veep...In Parliament

THE PROTRACTED controversy as to whether Vice President John Dramani Mahama actually promised that the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) will give 10 percent of oil revenue to the people of the Western Region has been settled, as Joe Baidoe-Ansah, Member of Parliament (MP) for Effia-Kwesimintim, yesterday provided documentary evidence on the matter.

Contributing to the debate on the Petroleum Revenue Management Bill on the floor of Parliament, Hon. Baidoe-Ansah took on the governing NDC for letting down the chiefs and people of Western Region for failing to incorporate into the Bill, the promise by Vice President Mahama during a campaign tour.

Joe Baidoe-Ansah’s revelation however created fear and panic within NDC MPs, led by their leader, Cletus Apul Avoka who reacted spontaneously by rising on their feet in almost in unison, challenging the Effia-Kwesimintim MP to provide evidence that indeed, the Vice President made a solemn pledge to the people of Western Region on the oil revenue.

Challenged by the baffled Majority side, Joe Baidoe-Ansah tabled the Tuesday September 2, 2008 edition of the Ghanaian Times publication in which Vice President Mahama had been quoted for making the promise as a running mate to then candidate John Evans Atta Mills.

“The National Democratic Congress running mate for the December polls, John Dramani Mahama, has commenced a campaign tour of the Western Region with a promise to use 10 percent of the oil revenue to develop the region.

“He said it is right that the people living in the area where the oil is to be drilled are compensated adequately due to the adverse effects that the oil industry will have on them,” Vice President was reported to have promised during his campaign tour to the Western Region.

Hon. Baidoe-Ansah was at a loss as to why a government that promised the Western Region 10 percent of oil revenue would not include the promise in the bill to give it a legal effect but reneged on it, compelling the revered Western Region chiefs to move all the way to Accra to petition parliament on the matter.

According to him, this was particularly disturbing in view of the fact that Vice President Mahama had cautioned politicians to avoid empty promises.

Indeed, as the running mate to Prof. Atta Mills in the 2008 elections, the Vice President had been quoted in the Monday September 1, 2008 edition of the Daily Graphic that “because of the empty promises made by some politicians, all politicians have been branded as people who make promises and do not deliver to them.”

He added that “It is about time we changed that trend to gain the confidence of the people.”

Joe Baidoe-Ansah, a former Minister of Trade and Industry in the Kufuor administration, challenged the ruling NDC to fulfill its promise, else it would be classified among the group of politicians who only made empty promises.

Supporting the Western Region chiefs, the former minister said Ghanaians should not be frightened by the demand of 10 percent oil revenue, pointing out that any region could also make a similar demand in future if oil was discovered in that region.

“In fact, there should be a policy for every region to ask for 10 percent of oil revenue if petroleum is discovered in that region,” the Effia-Kwesimintim MP suggested, adding, “It is important to reinvest the oil revenue in areas where the oil resource is coming from.”

Meanwhile, the Minority in Parliament has served notice that it would resist any attempt to use the oil revenue as collateral for future borrowing of loans.

Clause 5 of the Petroleum Revenue Management Bill prohibits the use of the Petroleum Account for the provision of credit to government, public agencies, and private sector entities and adds that there is not to be future borrowing against proven petroleum reserves.

However, the Minority Spokesperson on Energy and MP for Navrongo Central, Joseph Kofi Adda, indicated there was information that some NDC MPs would be making amendments to the provision to allow government to use the petroleum revenue as collateral to borrow loans.

“We will resist this attempt because if that is allowed to happen, it will be the beginning of the oil curse in Ghana,” Hon. Adda, who is also a former Minister of Energy, warned.