Oil discovery: Ghanaians cautioned

Ho, Aug. 24, GNA - Barely 24 hours after news was broken about the discovery of another oil field in the country, Mr Kwesi Pratt Junior, a member of the Committee for Joint Action (CJA), on Thursday cautioned Ghanaians not to be overexcited about news of the discovery of "world class" oil in the country.

He said getting barrels of oil alone would not solve the country's numerous problems if the funds accruing from the sales would not benefit the ordinary person in the street.

Mr Pratt said this at a public forum organized by the CJA on the theme:

"The economic situation in Ghana" in Ho, which attracted youth groups, students and political activists in the Municipality. Mr Pratt said Ghanaians needed to be guided by the "bad experiences" that had characterized many oil rich countries in the sub-region and not be over joyous about the discovery. He stated that the discovery of oil in commercial quantities in the country was not a new thing adding that thousands of barrels had ever been exploited under the Acheampong regime.

Mr Pratt observed that conflicts in most oil rich countries in the sub-region could be traced to the exploitation of oil in those countries and said: "Our discovery is not the end of our problems". He blamed the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government for the country's energy crisis and warned that if care was not taken, the country could face major energy problem in the future. Mr Pratt criticized government on its policies, especially on education and health and said conditions in the country's health facilities were more deplorable than ever.

He noted that the country's general economy was in total turmoil and said it was improper for the government to think of selling the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB). Mr Pratt argued that the ADB was making profits and could stand on its own without political interference.

He intimated that the ADB supported farmers and fishermen whom Stanbic Bank would not help once it took over the ADB. Mr Pratt called on the public, patriotic individuals and other pressure groups to rise up to their civic responsibilities and speak against bad policies and initiatives of the NPP government. Madam Ama Benyiwa Doe, National Democratic Congress (NDC) Women Organiser, said it was not enough for Ghanaians to only queue to cast their votes every four years but also show concern about the governance of the country and ensure that the right thing was done for the good of posterity.

She said the NPP government had become power drunk and needed to be held accountable to the electorate.

Mr Ato Ahwoi, former minister in the NDC government said the present energy crisis in the country was as a result of incompetence by the NPP government, which had led to the collapsed of many industries. Mr Samuel Okudjeto Ablakwah, former president, National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS), urged the youth and students not to allow their rights to be trampled upon by any politician. He asked them to constantly fight for their rights and review their carefree attitude towards issues of national concern.