President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has debunked the perception that the government is engaged in a sell-out of petroleum agreements to international investors. He said the government had always put the national interest first, adding that in the circumstances where some investors felt aggrieved, it was not about any unfavourable investment climate in the country.
The President urged the people to face up to the reality of global petroleum exploration and trade situation, and allow the country to formulate policies that would work to produce results in the national interest. President Akufo-Addo was speaking at the Jubilee House in Accra at the weekend, when a delegation from the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC), led by its Chairperson, Emerita Professor Elizabeth Ardayfio-Schandorf, called on him to discuss the prospects and challenges in the upstream petroleum industry.
In attendance were the Chief of Staff, Akosua Frema Osei-Opare; the Minister of State at the Ministry of Energy, Herbert Krapa; the Chief Executive of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Joseph Dadzie; the acting Secretary to the President, Ekow Essuman; some officials of the ministry, the GNPC and the PIAC Secretariat. The PIAC delegation briefed the President about the declining oil production in the country since 2020, and the outcome of a two-day technical workshop organised in Accra by the committee and other stakeholders in the petroleum industry.
President Akufo-Addo said it was unfortunate that some people found it difficult to accommodate the challenges and stressed the need to promote dialogue and debate in the country on how to give fiscal and other incentives to big players in the upstream industry. The President said it was time for the nation to confront the challenges to enable it to deal with some of the hard market facts in order to exploit oil for the good of the present and future generations.
