Oil and War: Using Security to manage Ghana’s Oil Find (II)

“We were living in peace before Shell came. We were sharing our forests with animals and monkeys, but when Shell came, they started setting one community against another. ..before you knew it, they started killing our people”. - Pa Jim Beeson Saro-Wiwa, father of Ken Saro-Wiwa [Source: “Blood Trail, Repression and Resistance in the Niger Delta”, a publication of the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO)]

The country has been greeted with a test of what usually pertains to the “black gold” sector with her Western neighbour Ivory Coast reportedly laying claims to portions of the huge oil wealth in the deep waters of the Western Region. It is significant that the government moves to calm situations through diplomatic mediation. But all said and done, Ghana should never underestimate the curse that security can proffer to the economy especially when she is touted as the beacon of democracy in Africa. Leaving out the details of security provides an asymmetric economy that does not have the capacity to contain the pressures of oil exploitation and production. Would Ghana’s economy be asymmetric? Thus, concentrating on fast-tracking infrastructure development and wealth fund to the neglect of security.

What should be known is the fact that the oil and gas sector presents a package that always threatens the progress of an economy. This is just the beginning of the grim tests of oil. This makes an economy that thinks of only “who gets what” without regarding the basic realities of the oil sector susceptible to political, socio-economic and environmental disasters.

It is imperative to note that many recent econometric studies find a correlation between the production (and exports) of oil and the risk of civil war. This is even justified with the uprisings of the Movement foe the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) of Nigeria where there have been serious attacks on oil fields and refineries and kidnapping of expatriate workers. Another can be said of Front for Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC) in Angola.

Oil security is a condition in which a nation and all, or most of its citizens and businesses have access to sufficient oil resources at reasonable prices for the foreseeable future, free from serious risk of major disruption of service (Barton et al, 2005). By virtue of the fact that oil security has become a matter of both national and international concern, it is reasonable for Ghana to launch holistic security mechanisms into her offshore and onshore regions to bring about prudent management of oil revenues. Oil security dictates the direction and status economic development and stability.

This article which is the second part of the first publication “Oil and War: Using Security to manage Ghana’s Oil Find” seeks to demystify both the direct and indirect contributions of security in the prudent management of oil and gas revenues.

The Thorny Issues

First and foremost, the capacity of the security agencies in terms of available equipments and remunerations should be adequately enhanced and improved. This would enable the police and the military to respond to security breaches in an appropriate and responsible manner. The report by Human Rights Watch in 1999 also revealed that Royal Dutch/Shell, the largest producer in the region, was paying for government security forces implicated in human rights abuses. Enough motivation of these security agencies would help nip the condition as happened in Nigeria in the bud. It is a fact that the situations that can ignite violence in development of the oil and gas industry relate to when the police and military forces engage in predatory acts against the welfare of the local people. The question to ask is that what brings about these attacks on discontented local people?

Also, the Ghana Navy and the military should be adequately equipped. This would involve the provision of helicopters and security installations for the police and the military for surveillance of the offshore and onshore region. There should also be available state-of-the-art speedy-boats for the Navy to keep strict watch on possible attack by pirates or extremist groups on the high waters.

The engagement with private securities, engagement with public securities and risk assessments concerning security environment should be made clear and spelt out in the country's security management framework for the oil and gas sector. In cases of security breaches, whether or not to engage the public securities should be made easier. It is in this respect that the development of dangerous extremist movements could be curtailed.

With regard to the severity of human rights abuses by security forces that threatened better management of oil wealth, the U.S State Department and the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office convened with oil and mining companies in 2000, together with several non-governmental organizations and developed a set of Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights. Among the provisions, the principles stipulate that companies should clearly communicate their policies to government security forces (Covering Oil: A Reporters Guide to Energy and Development, 2005). It is, therefore, imperative for the government of Ghana to compel Tullow Oil Ghana Limited, Kosmos Oil Ghana Limited, Anadarko and several other companies with stake in the Jubilee Oil Field to sign onto these principles. In this regard, securities agencies in Ghana need not be made oblivious of what pertains in the oil sector and as such would remain efficient in carrying out their expected duties.

As part of efforts to ensuring oil security, the government of Ghana should move for the formation of community-based security group that would work together with the public security agencies to contain the insurgence of armed conflicts and possible threats of terrorism on reserves and refineries. The community-based security forces which would be made up of the youthful indigenes in different communities in the coast of Western Region would be better situated to detect the rise and formation of any extremist movements. They would also be positioned to respond appropriately to emergency cases and any security breaches.

The government should also strengthen the relationships with neigbouring countries to extend the strategies of security beyond the borders of Ghana. This is because what happens at the Continental Shelf of Cote d’Ivoire and Togo could endanger the smooth exploitation, production and exportation of oil on the Continental Shelf of Ghana. The early development where Cote d’Ivoire is laying claims on Ghana’s oil field provides grounds for such action.

Conclusion

Security believe it or not remains the most crucial aspect in the exploitation and development of any oil-producing economy. The indirect factors that contribute to insecurity in oil-rich states should be taken into consideration with the direct measures at ensuring oil security. It is important that Ghana should not be swayed into disaster by only concentrating on the gains of the oil find. The country should as well give all the necessary commitments at ensuring full-scale security. This is because some oil-rich states such as Angola, Nigeria, or Sudan have had civil wars within their borders for decades on end. Ghana can create a safe haven in its borders as its happening in oil-rich countries including Norway and United Arab Emirates.

It is striking to know that defeating the resource curse can go no further than ensuring holistic and pragmatic oil security measures that would serve as catalyst to spark unflinching efforts towards creating a livable economy. It behoves the government to, as a matter of urgency, pass a realistic security management plan for the oil and gas industry to sustain the gains from the sector. We have no option than to tailor all-encompassing security measures into the context of economic and social benefits. Oil and Gas revenues should make a difference in the lives of the masses.

The author, Stephen Yeboah is at the Department of Planning, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi-Ghana. [stephenyeboah110@yahoo.com]