Ghana

The Acting Editor of Public Agenda, Dr Steve Manteaw on Thursday, addressed the Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament as industry lobby moved to water-down draft EU legislation on Transparency and Accountability in the operations of extractive sector companies.

Sharing the platform with Alexander Woollcombe, Acting Director of the ONE Campaign office in Brussels, and industry barons, Dr. Manteaw argued fervently in favour of strong legislation.

_On 16 January 2012 Ghanaian civil society organisations wrote to the Danish Minister of Business and Growth, Mr. Ole Sohn. Denmark had assumed the presidency of the EU in early January 2012. In the letter, the civil society organizations voice their strong support for the EU amendment proposals to the Transparency and Accounting Directives, which would oblige extractive companies to publish their payments on a country-by-country level.

The West may be paddling an ocean of debt and disorder–naught but austerity and tatty lifestyle reductions–but Africa is booming, especially Ghana, one of the world’s fastest growing economies in 2011.

In this West African nation, it’s the era of oil. Tapped just over a year ago in the Gulf of Guinea, the Jubilee Oil Field contributed seven per cent of the country’s 14.6 per cent growth last year. A reported 23 million barrels were lifted out of the field in 2011 by Ireland’s Tullow Oil and other stakeholders.

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Communiqué Issued at the Closing of the High Level Policy Dialogue on Oil Governance in Uganda

1. The High Level Policy Dialogue on Oil Governance in Uganda took place in Jinja, Uganda on November 30 –December 1, 2011.

Communiqué issued at the end of a civil society mission to Ghana on the extractive sector

Accra – Ghana

Sunday July 17 – Friday July 22, 2011

Introduction

A five-member Civil Society delegation undertook an Advocacy and experience-sharing visit to Ghana from July 17 to July 22, 2011, during which they met with a variety of stakeholders actively involved in promoting Extractive Transparency in Ghana.

Undertaken under the auspices of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) with support from Oxfam Novib, the delegation met with senior government officials,

We, members of civil society organizations from Congo‐Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Sierra Leone and the United States as well as community leaders from Guinean mining communities in Fria, Kindia, Léro, Sangarédi and Siguiri in the Republic of Guinea, having participated in a regional seminar on the exploitation of natural resources and the rights of communities held in Conakry (Guinea) from March 13‐15, 2011, at the initiative of the Centre du Commerce International pour le Développement (CECIDE) and Global Rights.

The West African nation of Ghana has begun to pump its first commercial oil after the discovery of the offshore Jubilee Field three years ago.

President John Atta Mills turned on the valve at an offshore platform. A consortium led by UK-based Tullow Oil hopes to produce 55,000 barrels per day, increasing to 120,000 barrels in six months. Ghana, one of Africa’s most stable countries, is expected to earn $400m (£254m) in the first year.

Oil Production to Start with Big Legal and Transparency Gaps

Washington, DC – On Wednesday, December 15, Ghana will celebrate the start of oil production at the major offshore “Jubilee” field, kicking off an oil boom expected to bring billions of dollars into the country. As Ghana prepares to “turn on the tap” with an elaborate inauguration ceremony, international humanitarian organization Oxfam America urges the government to quickly address large gaps in the legal framework needed to make the most of the billions in government revenue Ghana will receive from the sector.

Ghana: CSOs Welcome Gov’t Disclosure of Petroleum Revenue Management Bill

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