ACEP commends gov't for putting Ghana Gas under GNPC

A policy analyst with the Africa Centre For Energy Policy (ACEP), Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, has commended the government for putting the Ghana National Gas Company under the control of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC).

He said the creation of the Ghana National Gas Company was a wrong move, hence bringing it under the control of GNPC was a step in the right direction.

Speaking at a discussion on GNPC’s investment strategy in Accra yesterday, Dr Adam said he supported the call for the GNPC to focus on its core functions instead of looking elsewhere.

The discussion, which was organised by the Natural Resource Governance Institute and Financial Accountability and Transparency Africa (FAT-Africa), both non-governmental organisations, was attended by stakeholders in the petroleum industry and some governance experts.

The aim of the discussion was to support a public dialogue on the role, ambitions and governance of the GNPC.

Currently, the GNPC holds strategic investments in Airtel Ghana, Prestea Sankofa Gold, a mining firm, and has also invested in the hospitality industry in the country.

Dr Amin said the GNPC’S main activity had not been a success, adding that there was the need for the corporation to focus on its core activity to achieve its goals.

He observed that for the GNPC to achieve its goals, there was the need for the government to cease its interference in the operations of the corporation.

He said to prevent government’s interference to enable the corporation to chalk up successes, there was the need for it to be listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange.

Dr Amin said other countries in the West African sub-region had listed their petroleum corporations on the stock market and were making tremendous progress, hence the GNPC could do same.

A member of the Mines and Energy Committee of Parliament, Mr Joseph Cudjoe supported the idea that the GNPC should concentrate on its core functions.

He said the time had come for the GNPC to be listed on the stock market to cut off government interference with the corporation’s operations to enable it to function effectively and efficiently.

He attributed part of the failures of the GNPC to government’s consistent interference in the corporation’s business.

The GNPC is the most active state-owned enterprise (SOE) in the country, participating in upstream petroleum activities on behalf of the government.

The GNPC’s mandate has expanded in recent years, with the creation of GNPC Exploreco and the government’s decision to put the Ghana National Gas Company under its control.