Workshop For Parliamentary Select Committee On Mines And Energy

Mr Cletus Avoka, a member of the Presidential Task Force on Priority Projects, has said the government has envisioned Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) as a mechanism to drive the socio-economic development of the nation. He said this would help move, particularly, the natural resource sector forward. He was opening a two-day Induction and Work Planning Workshop organised by STAR-Ghana for members of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Mines and Energy at Busua in the Ahanta West District last Monday. Mr Avoka said as a result of this vision, contractual agreements between the government and the private sector would be brought before Parliament for approval. He said the workshop was to equip members of the select committee with skills and knowledge to enable them to effectively scrutinise and propose amendments to agreements brought before the House. Mr Avoka said any lapses in the capacity of members of the committee would undermine the responsibility entrusted to Parliament and also jeopardise the future of the country. He said it was a step in the right direction that members of the select committee were being sensitised to revenue management in the oil and gas and mining sectors. Mr Avoka said the oil and gas industry was a dynamic sector in terms of policy directions and technology, and that, it was necessary for members of the select committee to be abreast of new developments in the sector in order to offer the best policy directions and legal frameworks. Mr Kwabena Donkor, Chairman of the Select Committee, said the workshop would assist members of the committee to offer effective oversight in the oil and gas and mining sectors. He said oil and gas had enormous potential for the nation�s development, and called on the people, and Parliament to monitor revenue from the oil and gas sector and ensure that the revenue was properly utilised. He said Ghana had great potential in gas and could be a major exporter of the product. He also added that it may even open the way for the establishment of fertiliser manufacturing plants to support the agriculture sector, adding that it could also generate cheap power for bauxite and iron mining.