'We need a comprehensive report on gold-for-oil deal' - Dr. Manteaw

The spokesperson for the Civil Society Organization in the Extractive Industry, Dr. Steve Manteaw, has asked the government and stakeholders in the gold-for-oil policy to make public the terms of the deal in order to ensure transparency.

According to him, the terms of the deal are scanty making it difficult to hold stakeholders accountable.

Speaking to journalists at the launch of the Ghana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative on the Oil and Gas Sector, he said: “We don’t know how Ghana procures its petroleum products and at what cost, nor do we know the cost of facilitating the gold-for-oil program. All of these things need to be disclosed so that we can hold our duty-bearers accountable. We want to see a comprehensive gold-for-oil policy because, as it stands, there is none. All we have seen are headline pronouncements.

“There is no blueprint document, and Parliament must take an interest in this. They must see the policy document, interrogate it, and see how best it serves the national interest,” he noted.

He asked the Precious Minerals Marketing Company to make known the various procurement processes involved in facilitating the deal.

“You go onto the international market you use the proceeds for your gold sales to buy petroleum products, how are you procuring your petroleum products? Is it at a spot price or a hedge price?”

“What is the term with which you are procuring your petroleum products, there is no disclosure”, he added.

Furthermore, Dr. Manteaw said “At three critical points, the gold purchases by PMMC, there is no transparency in terms of the gold sales, who is buying and how is Ghana procuring it petroleum products; at what cost we don’t know. We need a comprehensive report on the Gold for Oil deal.”

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