Oil blocks contracting is murky - ACEP

The African Center for Energy Policy (ACEP), an energy think-thank, is advocating for an open and competitive process for the bidding of the country’s oil blocks contracts. This, according to ACEP, would ensure that oil blocks were given out to competent investors who are financially resourceful.

It would also do away with the tendency of corruption clothing the issuance of oil block to sole bidders. The Executive Director for ACEP, Dr Amin Adam, who is pushing for the adoption of the idea, warned that Ghana could find herself in trouble, if open and competitive bidding for oil blocks was ignored.

According to him, there have been instances where investors have abandoned projects solely awarded to them on flimsy grounds. Dr Amin Adam, who was speaking at a day’s ACEP programme dubbed, Citizens Energy Manifesto’ in Takoradi recently, also challenged Ghanaians to demand how politicians and policy makers intended to solve our energy challenges.

He contended that national development was too big to be left in the hands of politicians alone. According to him, it was based on this that his outfit has launched the ‘Citizens Energy Manifesto Programme’ to collate the views of Ghanaians on the energy sector, for onward submission to politicians and policy makers.

The collated views would later be presented to a panel of experts, where they would debate the views, by making inputs and subtractions. At the turn of Sekondi-Takoradi section of the Citizens Energy Manifesto forum, Dr Amin Adam stressed that it was time citizens went to the level of demanding accountability from politicians and policy makers on energy.

The Citizens Energy Manifesto provided the platform for citizens to comment on how the next government intended to address petroleum and energy sector challenges. Dr. Amin said the Citizen Energy Manifesto would go ahead to scrutinise policies of political parties on energy and petroleum, after all have been launched.

Dr. Ishmael Ackah, Programme Director for ACEP, also stressed that it was important citizens join the call for open and competitive bidding processes for the award of oil blocks contracts.