Press Statement from NPP-USA

PRESS STATEMENT FROM NPP-USA – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

KWESI PRATT’S LIES ARE NOT RADIO WORTHY

Ghana is a serious country with serious potential. The rest of Africa and many parts of the world look up to us. The independence struggles in the middle of last century, Mr. Kofi Annan’s leadership at the United Nations, our enduring democracy for the past two decades amidst civil conflict among many of our neighbors, and more recently, the Black Stars’ stunning performance at the World Cup in South Africa have all contributed in making Ghana an exemplary country in Africa. To contrast this laudable reputation with infantile commentaries by a third rate debater who has inexplicably become a prominent feature on our airwaves is embarrassing for a nation of Ghana’s status.

There is a fine line between propaganda and outright lying, and Kwesi Pratt has crossed that line. In a recent panel discussion on Radio Gold’s Alhaji and Alhaji political program, Kwesi Pratt the Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper claimed that there is a grand conspiracy by the United States of America to gain control of Ghana’s oil resource through the establishment of its Military base in the country. He has also in same breath alleged that the New Patriotic Party is rooting for the American oil company KOSMOS, and asserted that the opposition party is more concerned with the crumps which will fall from the table of KOSMOS/Exxon Mobil and the US State Department’s deal than protecting the interest of Ghana.

What makes this claim infantile is that in reality, Ghana’s proven oil reserves of 1.8 billion barrels, while contextually significant and greatly appreciated, constitute 0.17% of proven oil reserves on the African continent. Pratt would have us believe that the United States would spend $10 billion (the minimum spent on even the smallest of military bases) for that amount of oil? It is true that the United States does not build military bases for charity purposes, and that it does so to protect its interest. That said, a cost/benefit analysis does not support the puerile claims made by this third rate debater. What’s more, plans to establish a United States Military base in Ghana surfaced at least four years before the oil discovery, and it had more to do with the war on terrorism.

Mr. Kwesi Pratt further contended that the NPP and other groups are in support of KOSMOS’ decision not to sell off its stake in the Jubilee field to a Ghanaian company. According to him, despite repeated assurances from the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) that it is interested in buying the 23% stake of KOSMOS’ share in the Jubilee field, KOSMOS is obdurate in selling rather to an America company.

Again here are the facts to refute Pratt’s lies. The NPP as a party has not supported the Kosmos/ExxonMobil deal. If anything, the opposition party has been loudly silent on the proposition. Certain individuals who may be sympathetic to the NPP have expressed support for the deal, but the party itself has not made any declaration in support of it. That said, revelation that the GNPC was not actually buying Kosmos for Ghana, but for Chinese interest have been confirmed by a joint GNPC/CNOOC offer of $5 billion for Kosmos’ stake.

The question then is why would Pratt be so vehemently opposed to an American company buying out another American company, but demonstrates tacit support for the Chinese company’s purchase? Although it was supposedly a GNPC/CNOOC offer, with the Chinese putting up the entire $5 billion, who do you think would control the stake when purchased? Do not forget that when the opportunity presented itself for the Chinese to invest money to explore for oil in Ghana, they laughed at what was then called the “oil graveyard.” Let us get serious for a minute.

Mr. Pratt further alleged that in order to promote its interest, KOSMOS distributed free of charge to interested parties, seismic data that the country through the GNPC spent over 300m dollars in collecting. That was yet another lie by Pratt. The actual amount spent to collect the 3D seismic data was just over $30 million, and all that cost was borne by Kosmos, not Ghana. We present these facts not to render support for Kosmos, but to educate Ghanaians about the true picture of our infant energy industry. And we urge all who speak on public platforms to restrict their comments to facts, and not innuendos that serve no other purpose than to divide a previously united Ghana.

True Ghanaians are humble and patriotic. In our collective patriotism, we have been able to sustain ourselves with Gold, cocoa, and other mineral resources for six decades now. Oil and gas that constitute less than half of one percent of the entire continental output should not turn us into arrogant radicals. The notion that the United States would ignore the Libyas, the Nigerias, the Angolas and other oil producers of Africa in order to invest heaven and earth to gain control over our oil smacks of childishness and arrogance that is unGhanaian. Kwesi Pratt kept on repeating that it is unbelievable, and he was right; one cannot believe such falsehoods.

If there is evidence that the United States wants to build a military base in Ghana, we believe it is a matter best left to our government to interface with its American counterpart to find out if there are areas of mutual interest to the two countries. That is the responsible thing to do. NPP-USA opines that Kwesi Pratt’s causing of fear and panic by peddling falsehoods should not only be ignored by the discerning public, but must be prosecuted; especially since this government has made it its Mantra to prosecute similar statements in the public domain.

Finally, we want to alert Ghanaians that those masquerading as seeking our national interests in the likes of Pratt”s fashion, are in fact stoking nationalist sentiments for their personal gains. They rally the public to support their claims while all the while having not an iota of Ghana’s interest at heart. The NPP-USA will always seek to provide the facts to the Ghanaian public when we are in the position to do so. Then Ghanaians can draw their own conclusions.