Ghana inaugurates commercialization of oiltoday

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Published 15th December 2010 - 0 comments - 847 views -

The FIRST commercial oil pours out today in Ghana as three prominent citizens of the Republic, President John Evans Atta Mills, Former Presidents Jerry John Rawlings and John Agyakum Kufour would officially inaugurate extraction of oil to symbolize commercial production at the Jubilee Fields in the Western Region’s cape three- point.
The event which is expected to be marked with funfair would be tipped as remarkable as it brought together people from all walk of life including rival political leaders and chiefs.

What is next after the inauguration? The persistent pouring of oil from the sea and intensification of production which comes with its associated environmental risks would be a major concern in the wake of climate change.

My concerns: will the flow of oil be a panacea of Ghana’s economic growth?

I am afraid to say big No. In the 16^th through to 19^th century Ghana was and still is a major world gold supplier and noted for its fine and quality gold, diamond, manganese, iron ore, cocoa and cheap labour. Ask me what is the state of people in mining communities or areas today? Poverty and deprivation, diseases, starvation and water pollution is what they are benefiting from.

The country is faced with serious environmental degradation and pollution, water pollution and the total depletion of forest.

Oil exploration is one of the major sector industries found to have caused more harm than good to the environment and water bodies. And that is what Ghana is going to face in the coming year. The benefit the country would drive would be less than the negative effects and would have been prudent we never had oil.

Like mining communities oil production towns would be flooded with criminals, of all kind and youth migration to that part of the country would be high. Check the track records of companies exploring that in Ghana–Anadarko, E.O Group Ghana Ltd, GNPC, Kosmos Energy, Sabre Oil and Gas and Tullow Oil and you would notice that countries that they operated are more deprived with serious environmental problems.

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About the author

Npong Balikawu Francis
Ghana
Journalist

EDUCATION Certificate, Climate Change Diplomacy May - July 2010 Diplo-Foundation Certificate, Decentralized Governance 15, March-13, May 2010 United Nations Public Administration Network (UNPAN) Diploma, Journalism 2002-2004 Institute of Business Management and Journalism Diploma, Marketing 2002-2004 Institute of Business Management & Journalism Certificate of participation, Strategic Business Development 4 – 7the Sept. 2003 Future Leaders International Certificate of participation, Human Rights and Journalism 31-May 2006 Journalists for Human Rights (JHR) Certificate of participation, Media Training July 26, 2007 Community Development & Advocacy Centre (CODAC) Senior High Sch. Certificate, Tatale E.P Senior High School, 1998- 2001 Basic Sch. Certificate, Tatale Junior High School 1994-1996 Tatale L/A primary School 1984-1993 WORK EXPERIENCE The Enquirer- Northern Region Correspondent 2005 to date Duties and responsibilities News reporting, editing and gathering Distribution and Marketing, Manage finances, Marketing survey, Direct link between newspaper vendors and Accra business office The Pen Magazine Senior reporter 2005 to 2007 Duties and responsibilities News gathering, assigning personnel (journalists) to duties Proof reading and editing personnel works Reporting directly to news editor/editor in chief Deputy news editor Head of news department, Responsible for front and back page of the paper Fiila FM Deputy News editor Oct. 2005-Sept. 2006 Duties and responsibilities News gathering, assigning personnel (journalists) to duties Proof reading and editing personnel works Report directly to news editor Select news stories for broadcast Arranging personal interviews with stakeholders Monitoring news broadcast on air Nkosuo FM Reporter/Marketing Executive Jan. 2004 - Oct 2 Duties and responsibilities Reporting: gathering news for broadcast Marketing: canvass for prospective advertisers Hantag Memo. Int. School Classroom Teacher 2002- 2003 Duties and responsibilities Supervise Children to clean sch. Compound Prepare lesson notes Mark class register Teach selected topic Supervise children to do class work Mark class work Revise class work with pupils Give home work Manhyia Int. School Classroom teacher 2003 – 2004 Duties and responsibilities Supervise Children to clean sch. Compound Prepare lesson notes , Mark class register Teach selected topic Supervise children to do class work Mark class work Revise class work with pupils Give home work Staff Secretary, Manhyia Int. Sch. 2003-2004 Chief Deacon Tatale S.D. A Church 1999-2001 Financial Sec. Student Representative Council (IBM&J) 2003- 2004 Concurrently Fin. Sec. Assoc. of Student Journalists (ASJ) 2003- 2004

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