African countries urged to seek proper ways of managing oil resource.

Resource rich African countries have been urged to seek for better ways of managing its resources for the benefit of the people.

James Klutse Avedzi, Chairman of the Finance Committee of Ghana’s Parliament said here Wednesday during the official opening of the 2015 Regional Extractive Industries Knowledge Hub (REIK HUB) under the theme, “Governance of Oil, Gas and Mining Revenues.”

He emphasized that the continent’s oil and gas sectors have flourished over the last decade as a result of high commodity prices and improved exploration technologies thereby leading to important discoveries.
Experts have predicted that Africa has the lowest discovery rate meaning more natural resources were yet to be discovered in the region.

This, the Ghanaian legislator observed, provide huge opportunities for sustainable development and poverty reduction and therefore expected to play an important role in the development of the continent.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that nearly 10 percent of the annual output of Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries and 50 percent of their exports come from natural resources.

Avedzi bemoaned the situation where in spite of Africa’s rich endowment in natural resources, the continent has been left to wallow in poverty, deprivation, conflict and environmental pollution.

“You and I are witnesses to how natural resources management in most countries in the region have resulted in conflicts and divisions, environmental degradation, creation of capital intensive economies that fail to create jobs and benefits for local communities and marginalization of groups like women, minority groups and the youth,” he remarked.

Many, he emphasized, see natural resources management in Africa as having been shrouded in secrecy, corruption, nepotism and cronyism.

The Chairman of the Finance Committee in Ghana’s Parliament said, “For extractive resources to truly benefit the people in Africa, countries should seek to better manage the revenue in a transparent and inclusive manner and to create a peaceful environment for oversight actors to operate.”

The West African country upon discovery of oil in commercial quantities enacted the Petroleum Revenue Management (PRMA) Act 2011, Act 815 and signed up onto the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) and made significant progress in the disclosure of extractive revenues received by the government.

He however emphasized it was still unclear whether civil society, the media, parliamentarians in resource rich countries on the continent were sufficiently well informed to take advantage of transparency for more effective oversight responsibilities.

Avedzi commended the organizers for the program in helping to build the capacities of various civil society groups and government agencies on the continent in ensuring strong fiscal responsibility and macro-economic planning as well as policies that can maximize participation, reduce inequalities and ensure natural resources were used in an environmentally sustainable manner.

Nana Kobina Nketia V, Paramount Chief for Essikado in the Western Region (Province), 218 kms west of here bemoaned the practice where most products used by Africans came from Europe saying, “Whoever controls you defines your world.”

He urged the school to come out with products to work to task African leaders to be accountable to the very people they serve.

The REIK, a two-week residential course comprehensively, covers fundamental and intermediate governance issues in the extractive industry decision chain based on the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) framework.

This year’s course, the sixth to be organized has 45 participants from 9 countries including Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Enditem.

Source: Xinhua.