[ 2012-05-06 ]

Local content development in oil sector needs attention- Prof. Panford
Cape Coast, May 05, GNA - Academic institutions
across the country has been urged to look into how
best local content in the oil sector could best be
developed to benefit the citizenry.

Professor Kwamina Panford, a visiting Fulbright
Scholar at the Institute for Development Studies
at the University of Cape Coast (UCC) made the
call at a lecture on “The academia and the
successful management of Ghana's petroleum
resources”, organized by the UCC, as part of its
occasional public lecture series.

He expressed worry about the fact that, between
January, 2007 and December 2011, billion spent on
various oil related activities in Ghana, only five
percent of it was spent on local content.

He therefore suggested that various faculties of
tertiary institutions should combine forces and
form a consortium that would identify local
businesses to provide goods and services required
by that sector.

The consortium could also serve as liaison between
the local businesses and the oil companies.

Prof. Panford talked about, among others, the
technical, financial and environmental issues, as
well as the challenges the communities close to
the operational areas of the oil companies
encounter.

He also touched on issues of corporate social
responsibility challenges as well as what the
industry operators could do to address potential
sources of conflict.

Prof. Panford pointed out that the number of
Ghanaians employed was not as important as the
quality of job positions they hold in these oil
firms and urged Ghanaian students to take up oil
related courses to enable them to secure high
positions in the industry.

On the issue of corporate social responsibility,
he called on departments and faculties of the
various academic institutions to carry out
research in communities close to the operational
areas of the oil companies to help them set
priorities on the assistance they need from the
oil firms.

He said this would enable the communities get the
exact infrastructures they need in their areas
instead of the companies “deciding” for them.

On the issue of conflicts, the Professor pointed
out that attention needed to be paid to the five
kilometre ban that had been placed on fishing
activities around the oil installations, saying it
was an area of potential conflict.

Prof. Panford called for a serious collaboration
between government and the private sector, as well
as academic and other institutions, to evolve
holistic and pragmatic ways towards the future of
petroleum production in the country so as not to
end up running at a loss.

Source - GNA

... go Back