W/R: Lack of Research Department,a Challenge for MMDAs to Maximize Benefits of Extractive Industry
The Co-Chair of Ghana’s Extractive and Transparency Initiative, Dr. Steven Mantey Yaw, has blamed the Assemblies in the Western region for their inability to optimize the benefits of the extractive industry due to lack of impact data analysis to press home their demands.
According to him, though the Western Regional Chiefs could not secure the 10% dividend of the oil revenue, there are other avenues through which the assemblies can make justification to demand more revenue allocation for projects through Social Economic Baseline.
The Social Economic Baseline demands the assemblies to justify or demonstrate the social-economic implications of an exploration of a particular mineral in their community by providing data to support claims for higher dividends. For example, if we say the cost of rent is expensive in the Western Region, or there is an increase in HIV infections in the region hence the need for increase in government resource allocation, there is the need to provide adequate data to back the claims.
This he believes has been one of the major challenges for the assemblies in the region making it difficult for full optimization of oil revenue.
Dr. Steven Mantey Yaw called on the Assembly to improve upon the quality of personnel they employ and set up a research centers/department that can provide accurate data to make justification of what is due the Assembly.
He spoke with Spice News on the sideline of a round table meeting with a multi stakeholder group of the Ghana Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative put together by friends of the nation.
“Even though lots of people are complaining about not seeing the impact of the oil industry, but one thing people have to recognize is that, the construction of the Terminal 3 at Kotoka international airport came from 30 million dollars oil revenue investment which has also yielded 6 million revenue for the country since last year. The current government has also invested the oil revenue in free senior high school which has benefited all Ghanaians but not withstanding the general benefit from the oil revenue that affect all Ghanains, the Western Region could still demand more”
Dr. Steven Mantey Yaw went ahead to demonstrate how the Western Region through its assemblies could still demand more from the oil revenue allocation based on the Section 24 of the Petroleum Revenue under exceptional transfers from the petroleum holding funds management Act. According to him, the assemblies must invest in research to provide data to back the assembly’s justification for an increase in revenue allocation from oil.
“The region still has an opportunity to demand for more revenue from the oil through the Section 24 of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act under exceptional transfers from the petroleum holding funds, which allows the region to make claims by demonstrating the Social Economic impact of the oil so far. It behoves on the Assemblies to make a justification through data for extra budget allocation”.
He charged the Assembly to improve upon the quality of staff they employ to ensure that they have the right personnel to embark on proper research.
Dr. Mantey Yaw Advised government to make a conscious effort towards improving its participation in the extracting industry since it is the only sure way to maximize our minerals revenue. Participation meant that we need local firms owing majority or appreciable share in the mineral industry. For Example Goldfields and AngloGold are all South African based companies.
