[ 2016-09-23 ]

No oil cash; no vote – Saltpond residents
Some residents of Saltpond in the Central Region
have also joined the current “no development, no
vote” chorus, with barely three months to the
elections, demanding their share of proceeds from
the Saltpond Offshore Crude Oil Producing
Company.

They accuse the current and previous governments
of depriving them of the basic necessities due
them, despite the revenue accrued from the
Saltpond Offshore Crude Oil Producing Company.

Some communities in the country in recent times
have threatened not to vote in the upcoming
general election; if the necessary development
projects are not implemented.

Addressing a press conference on Thursday, the
President of the Saltpond Forum, Dr. Ransford
Gyampo, asked government to provide them with
updates on the revenues from the company or risk
losing their vote.

“We sensed a gradual grand but surreptitious
scheme to relocate the municipal capital to
Mankessim simply because of Saltpond’s stalled
development. We believe this approach is very
irresponsible and a defeating solution to a
problem that can easily be tackled to honour the
role and contribution of Saltpond towards
Ghana’s development.”

He further called on government and presidential
hopefuls to come to their aid else they would
advice themselves.

“We call on government and indeed all
presidential hopefuls to immediately turn their
attention to Ghana’s political Mecca. We have
been abandoned for far too long and today we are
prepared to mobilise the good people of Saltpond
to boycott the upcoming general elections in
protest against their marginalization, if we do
not see any sign of concern from the ruling
government and the opposition,” he added.

About Saltpond

Saltpond is the capital of the Mfantsiman
Municipality in the Central Region.

The area is noted for offshore crude oil
resources. Saltpond Offshore Producing Company
Limited, and two joint venture partners operate
the Saltpond Oil Field.

Saltpond Oil Field faces closure

Meanwhile the Saltpond Oil Field, Ghana’s oldest
oil producing field, was to be decommissioned this
year because of its inability to turn around its
dwindling fortunes and remain economically
viable.

Oil production from the field, which is about 65
miles west of Accra and operated by the Saltpond
Offshore Production Company Limited, has declined
consistently, hence considerations for a closure.

Source - citifmonline.com

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