Ghana: Minority Demands Immediate Transfer Of Shares From JOHL To GNPC

The Minority Group in Ghana’s Parliament is demanding the immediate transfer of shares held by Jubilee Holdings Limited (JOHL), a company formed in the Cayman Islands, to the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC).

According to them, this will go a long way to make Ghanaians confident that the government is exercising the needed oversight of the nation’s oil assets.

For the past two weeks, the Ghanaian media have been dominated by discussions on the planned sale of half of the seven per cent stake Ghana acquired from Anadarko in 2021.

Ghana’s Energy Minister, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, had objected to the sale of Ghana’s share held by Jubilee Oil Holdings Limited to PetroSA, the national oil company of South Africa, but the Board Chairman of GNPC, Mr Freddie Blay, according to the Minister, was still pursuing the deal.

The Chairman’s action infuriated the Minister, compelling him to write to notify the presidency about what he described as a clandestine move by the Board Chairman of GNPC.

The issue attracted the attention of civil society groups working in the extractives sector, anti-corruption and good governance.

At a press conference, the group demanded the immediate removal of the CEO of GNPC and the Board Chairman.

Describing their action as illegal, the group stated that their continuous stay in office poses threats to the oil and gas sector.

Reacting to the issue, Mr Freddie Blay said he did nothing wrong and argued that the planned sale of Ghana’s oil assets was in the best interest of the state.

Commenting on the issues, the Minority Group, in an official statement on Tuesday, May 30, 2023, and signed by the Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, said the transfer of the shares would show that the government is monitoring the revenues accruing from Ghana’s petroleum resources.

“By this statement, the Minority calls on the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia NPP government to transfer the shares held by JOHL to GNPC without delay, so that Ghanaians can be assured that appropriate oversight is being exercised on these assets by Parliament and other stakeholders. This will only go a long way to ensure proper accountability and effective monitoring of the revenues accruing from our petroleum resources.”

Source: https://energynewsafrica.com