Editorial: When The Curtains Are Down

The Government of Ghana, has, once again set up a Committee, to examine issues related to actions of Kosmos Energy in their bid to dispose of its interests in Ghana, after which it is expected to pronounce on a deal the company wants to seal with ExxonMobil.

As we write now, the national oil company, Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), which has oversight responsibility for oil exploration and production in the country, has already refused to grant its consent to the sales and purchase agreement (SPA) between Kosmos Energy and ExxonMobil, leaving all stakeholders in wait for Government’s decision.

For us at The Business Analyst, there are interesting days ahead, as far as this transaction and related issues are concerned.

The issues as far as we know are so straight forward that we still are at a loss why government would set up a committee on this matter, except to do the unthinkable, and seek a way of rationalizing a decision not based on the evidence available, but on extraneous factors, for which reason there ought to be brainstorming to find justification.

If GNPC, which has the mandate to monitor and protect the interest of Ghana as far as exploitation of the country’s hydrocarbon potential is concerned, has, based on the requirements of the law, rejected the SPA the two companies seek to present to the people of Ghana as a ‘done deal, it beats our imagination why Government should beat about the bush – except of course to think outside the dictates of the laws governing petroleum exploration and production activities in the country!

At the end of the day, when the curtains are down on this whole saga, questions would certainly linger:

Whether or not the Management and Board of Directors of GNPC were competent enough to have taken the decision that they took, rejecting the deal presented by the two wayward companies, who have disrespected the laws of our land.

This would arise if government took a contrary position from that of the Board, and for which reason the Board decided to reverse its decision.

Questions that would be asked include also: Who does our President listen to? Does he listen to a Board that he has put in place to oversee the competent and responsible running of that national oil company, whose position on this matter would have been based on the national interest or to the White House, where Ghana’s interest can certainly not be found?

We are aware of all manner of lobbyists running along the corridors of power and pressing the propaganda buttons of their masters beyond.

The Business Analyst believes that when the curtains are drawn on this transaction, there is only one way that Ghana can stand tall after all the arm-twisting, acts of impunity and total disregard for our laws engaged in by Kosmos Energy and ExxonMobil - and that is to unconditionally reject the application that is before the Minister for Energy.

The nation has so many important challenges that should seriously engage our minds and certainly, that must not include giving a hearing to wayward companies that think with America’s backing and the instruments of lies and propaganda against our country’s image, they should have their way.