Parliament takes Petrol Bill through second reading

Accra, Nov. 24, GNA- Parliament concluded debate on the Petroleum Revenue Management Bill 2010 on Wednesday granting it a safe passage into the consideration stage where several proposed amendments are to be winnowed.

Curtains were drawn on the second reading which attracted huge attention and interest from both sides of the House at a time when demand for more debating hours were on the cards. Ghana joined the pool of oil producing countries and in a dire search of best practices around the world in the management of the oil revenue to avoid the woes of many countries blessed with resource hence the Petroleum Revenue Management Bill which seeks to chart the course of proper and accountable use of the oil revenue.

Mr Cletus Avoka, Majority Leader, who was the last to speak commended government and the Western Regional House of Chiefs for the wide consultation and for adopting a civil approach in presenting their petition to the House respectively.

He also thanked all Members of Parliament for dropping their party colours and adopted a patriotic approach in their discourse. Mr Avoka however expressed surprise that the argument made by some that the bill emanated from government and that those in government should have criticized it.

"Let me say this house is not a rubber stamp", he said, adding "I regret those lines of submissions."

The Leader of Government Business noted that Parliament should not make laws that tied the hand of the executives in governing the state. He stressed that if Kwame Nkrumah were to be heckled by such laws in those days, he would not have built the Akosombo Dam, the Tema Habour, the Accra-Tema Motorway and some other development projects. Mr Avoka was apprehensive about the introduction of the Public Interest Accountability Committee (PIAC) which according to the bill, would monitor and evaluate compliance with the act by government. He specifically questioned the legality of that committee especially the Queens who were members.

The Leader said the out look did not reflect the totality of Ghanaian nationhood since not every part of the country had queen overlords. He noted that Parliament had an oversight role to play. Mr Avoka endorsed the idea that revenue should not be pumped into the heritage and the Stabilisation Funds for at least five years and that proceeds be used for development projects because development was what the nation yearned for.

Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, Minority Leader, argued that the ten per cent demand by the chiefs of the Western Region was a campaign promise made by the Vice President and that it was strange that the government was not were ready fulfil it.

He said the Western Region had contributed so much to national development such as cocoa, timber, bauxite and now oil but lagged in terms of development.

He called for a long term national development plan which all political parties which may form governments would be committed to it. "We must a structure devoid of political coloration", he said. The Minority Leader argued that it was right for the framers of the bill to forbid the petrol revenue being used as loan security because that was what ran down Nigeria into debt. He said was government wanted to use the oil revenue for the SXT deal and hence their U-turn on the project. This statement prompted Mr Alban Bagbin, Minister of Water Resource, Works and Housing, to rise to his feet. He said the Minority Leader that the project was still on going and there was no U-turn to it and challenged Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu to prove otherwise.

He suggested the establishment of a Petroleum Fund parallel to the Consolidated Fund with project estimates that would be different so that projects that would be funded under such arrangement would be determinable. He said such programmes and activities should be costed by the Finance and Economic Planning Minister. He said the National Development Planning Commission should apolitical so that it would trustworthy enough to be used by any government at any time. 24 Nov 10