Ghana's Parliament Must Reject Fiscal Provisions in The Draft Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Bill

That there has been a sea-change in our country's politics and a profound shift in the national mood is beyond doubt. The many demonstrations across the nation, against the harsh economic conditions prevailing in the country today,  attest to that. Clearly, politicians in Ghana are drinking in the Last Chance Saloon: for Ghanaians will no longer tolerate the selling short of  Ghana by our nation's rulng elites.

That is why  as they consider the draft Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Bill, Ghana's parliamentarians must put the national interest ahead of the selfish ambitions of the powerful vested interests that have hijacked Ghana's oil deposits - and want to continue holding on to what actually are depleting assets. The MPs must reject the fiscal provisions contained in the draft bill now before Parliament.

 It is time they understood that it is no accident that Ghana signed on to some of  the worst petroleum agreements in the world - which gave away oil deposits worth some U.S.$160 billions to foreign oil companies. Incredibly, under those agreements, over a 20-year period, Ghana will receive only U.S.$20 billions - whiles the foreign oil companies, investing no more than U.S.$15 billions at the most, will walk away with some  U.S.$140 billions. How can that be, I ask?

Ghana's parliamentarians now have an opportunity to right that egregious wrong, and  take back assets worth U.S.$160 billions for the people of Ghana,  from the foreign oil companies operating here - and they can do so by first rejecting the fiscal provisions in the draft Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Bill, now before Parliament.

As we are all aware, it is an open secret that those one-sided agreements were obtained as a result of high-level corruption. They cannot therefore remain sacrosanct. They must be revisited for sure. And the right thing ought to be done about them now. Not tomorrow.

It is instructive that in one of the diplomatic cables from the U.S. embassy in Ghana to the State Department in Washington,  revealed by Wikileaks,  the late President Mills is said to have complained bitterly to the then American ambassador here, about foreign oil company executives attempting to bribe him, when they called on him at the Osu Castle.

They were treading along a  path they had traversed before - and were no doubt expecting the same end-result to their journey: which they previously obtained, when they embarked on a similar journey, in the period before President Mills came to power in January 2009. And we can all draw our own conclusions, too, incidentally.

For the information of Ghana's parliamentarians, Tullow Oil was happy to sign a production-sharing agreement with the Canadian oil company, Africa Oil - in which it agreed to entirely fund the production of the oil in an oil bloc owned by Africa Oil in Kenya: and share the proceeds on a 40-60% basis (if I remember correctltly) in favour of Africa Oil, which did not invest even a pesewa of its own money.

Tullow Oil and all the other foreign oil companies operating in Ghana can do the same thing here too - and sign fair production-sharing agreements with our country. Ghana's parliamentarians must understand clearly that  Ghanaian democracy will not survive if poverty and hardship continue to be the lot of the masses of the Ghanaian populace. It is in the long-term interest of the foreign oil companies to agree to fairer oil  agreements going forward -  for the anger of ordinary  Ghanaians is an existential threat to them and to Ghanaian democracy in equal measure.

The nationwide demonstrations against the harsh economic climate in Ghana is the writing on the wall for our educated urban elites. If they do what is right, Ghana can self-finance many development projects, as well as  expand and modernise our nation's infrastructure,  from revenues from the oil sector.  They must ensure that Ghana adopts a production-sharing  agreement regime that gives Ghana a fairer share of the oil produced on its territory and in its territorial waters (at the barest minimum on a 60-40% basis in Ghana's favour).

Times are hard for the vast majority of Ghanaians. That is why  Ghana's MPs must not fail our nation and its people at such a critical juncture  in our country's history. Parliament must heed the expert advice of the Ghana Institute of Governance and Security. Our nation's MPs must ensure that ownership of  our oil deposits is returned to the sovereign people of Ghana - and they can start the process by rejecting the fiscal  provisions of the draft Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Bill now before Parliament.

Ghana's MP's must not act as the agents and lackeys of foreign carpetbaggers. History will not judge them kindly if  they fail Mother Ghana and ordinary Ghanaians in our country's hour of need.  Our nation's MPs must ensure that henceforth Ghana adopts 'pure' production-sharing agreements in all oil-sector contracts that public officials sign on our nation's behalf. Above all, the MPs must reject the fiscal provisions contained in the draft Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Bill now before Parliament.  As patriots and sincere Ghanaian  nationalists they have no choice but to do so. A word to the wise...