Nana Akufo–Addo has disclosed that the next NPP government under his leadership would elevate the Takoradi habour to a maritime hub. This he said would be done by providing the port with modern equipment and infrastructure to make the port comparable to other ports on the continent.

The modernisation and expansion process of the port, he said, would include the establishment of bigger warehousing facilities as to cater for increasing cargo in the port and oil industry and an oil terminal for the new oil discovery in the region. Addressing workers of the Ghana Ports and Habours Authority after a familiarisation tour round the port, Nana disclosed that the feasibility studies to modernise the Takoradi port had been completed by the Kufuor administration.

He said what was left for the next NPP government to do was to implement it as part of its industrialisation and development agenda for Ghana. The past NPP government was devoted to setting a solid foundation for the Ghanaian economy .The next NPP government would be geared towards a rapid transformation of the economy he stated.

Modernising the Takoradi port into a maritime hub, Nana said, would enable it play a vital role in the vision of the next NPP government to shift Ghana from a raw material based economy to an industrialised one. Accompanied by NPP stalwarts such as Osafo Maafo, Gloria Akuffo, Evans Amoah, and Nana Owusu Ankomah Western Regional Minister and chairman respectively, Nana cautioned the electorate not to entrust the destiny of the Ghanaian economy in the hands of incompetent, ineffective and unproductive Ghanaians like the NDC through this year's election

Later in the Shama, Essikado, Takoradi and Sekondi constituencies, where Nana addressed well attended rallies to introduce Sophia Baiden Amissah, Kwabena Darko and Paapa Owusu Ankomah as parliamentary candidates. He appealed to the electorate to maintain the confidence and trust they have had in the NPP over the years and vote for the party massively. At Esikado where Mr. Peter Mac Manu Party Chairman addressed the mammoth crowd, he described the NDC as a violent party bent on discrediting all state institutions with the aim of rejecting the final outcome of the elections

Ghana, Nana observed was on the verge of economic progress after 8 years of solid economic foundation laid by President Kufuor. On his vision for the Western Region, Nana Akufo- Addo stated that special emphasis would be paid to the cocoa industry to enable cocoa farmers who are dominant in the region, increase their production level and also enjoy higher bonuses.

The new oil discoveries in the region in commercial quantities would play an important part in the country's industrial revolution and provide more jobs and revenue for the nation. Nana reiterated his promise to make secondary school education free which received several cheers and noted his topmost priority was to make education accessible to all school going children irrespective of their parent's financial status.

On the issue of pair trawling affecting fishermen, Nana said the NPP would continue to protect both the country's waters and marine species. He said that the NPP government was not insensitive to the plight of fishermen he said was a mere propaganda by the NDC to win the votes of the fishermen .

Source: Akufo-Addo campaign

Thursday, 21 June 2007 President J.A. Kufuor has given hints of immediate measures to ensure that Ghana will be the exception to the African paradox of oil, poverty and conflict. Closing a two-day Consultative Group Meeting with Ghana's donor partners in Accra last Tuesday, President Kufuor said even before crude oil was found in commercial quantities, measures, including institutional, would have to be put in place now to ensure that the country fully benefited from its oil resources.

Nigeria, Gabon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea own some of the richest oil fields in Africa but their people are said to be among the world's poorest. Against that background, the President said, "We have to be careful with this find and my government will start working immediately to ensure that the safeguards are not political but institutional to benefit the nation as a whole." The meeting, the 14th in the series which deliberated on the way forward to accelerate Ghana's growth, particularly in agriculture, human resource development, education, health, among others, was at the instance of the World Bank and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning. President Kufuor said he was personally aware of both the blessings and the curses that the discovery of oil had brought to many nations and that Ghana was poised to take a cue from all the experiences to ensure that "we benefit fully from this black gold".

In countries as different as Norway and Brunei, oil has provided the foundation not only for great individual wealth but also for tremendous social gains, a feat, the President indicated, must be attained in Ghana. On Saturday, June 16, 2007, Ghana struck oil at Cape Three Points, an area demarcated for oil exploration in the Western Region, to the delight of all, in the wake of the serious energy crisis which is virtually crippling industries and also disturbing the macro-economic fortunes of an economy which has seen consistent growth over the last six years. In what could be described as a 50th birthday present for the nation, Kosmos Energy, an American-based oil exploration firm, dug 3,425.8 metres deep into its "Mahogany" Well to reach the 'black gold' which is highly suspected to be in commercial quantities.

President Kufuor said he had heard all the comments and concerns of the people about the oil discovery, saying the government could only assure all, including the donor partners, that nothing would be left to chance in ensuring that society became the winner and that even "when I am out, my successor will use the measures, which will include institutional, to the benefit of the entire country". President Kufuor admitted that the energy crisis had been a bane on the economy, since it was "bedeviling our efforts" at continued growth. He said hitherto, the economy had been on track and growing at a pace acknowledged world-wide but gave the assurance that the measures being put in place now would lead to an end to the crisis before the curtain of the year drew down.

He mentioned, for instance, Chinese support for the construction of the Bui Dam, which was expected to generate 400 megawatts of power, and the other short term measures, including the acquisition of generating plants presently under installation. President Kufuor said the government was also considering other renewable sources, such as solar, but noted that "we need to redouble our efforts in those areas and we count on the donor community to help us to get us on top of the challenges". He also touched on corruption in reaction to concerns raised by the donor community at the meeting.

The donors had, earlier before the President spoke, not minced words when they mentioned the issue of corruption as one of the areas that the government needed to pay greater attention to if the growth of the country was to be sustained. He said since he made the declaration of "Zero Tolerance for Corruption" on the day of his inauguration as the President in his first term, he had not known peace but found the issue a major challenge which his government remained determined to fight until more meaningful results were achieved. President Kufuor said while the government was keen on bringing the situation under better control, there was the need for all, including the donor partners, to help in the fight.

Source:Daily Graphic

Ghana’s economy soon is expected to receive a significant boost with Monday’s announcement of the discovery of a large oil deposit in the country. This comes after a US-based firm, which has been prospecting for oil, made the discovery in the Western part of the country. The yield is believed to be one of Africa’s biggest oil deposits in recent times. Many Ghanaians who have believed the country would be prosperous with discoveries of oil deposits have welcomed the announcement.

From the capital, Accra Minister for Information Kwamena Bartels tells Voice of America English to Africa reporter Peter Clottey that President Kufuor’s government will be making sure Ghana doesn’t encounter the same problems other African countries face when oil discoveries were made in their countries. “We were informed by Energy Kosmos group, the oil company prospecting for oil at Cape Three Points in the western region of Ghana, that they have discovered oil, which they think is in significant quantities, as to be commercial. As of yesterday (Sunday) they believe they had reached 633 feet deep of oil.

They have not reached the bottom of the pit yet. Now, they believe that by the time they reach the bottom of the pit, and check the size of the well, we should have oil in very commercial quantities,” he notes. Bartels reiterated the significance of the oil discovery to the country’s economy. “You know we’ve spent over two hundred million dollars a year on the importation of oil, and with the energy crisis now, it’s even gone up. We believe that it is going to make a significant impact on the economy of our country, and the quality of life of our people by the fact that too much of it of which we would have normally imported will no more be imported,” Bartels said. He said President John Kufuor’s government has set up teams to ascertain problems other African countries have encountered with oil discoveries so Ghana would learn from their experience. “We have to learn the lessons from these African countries.

What did they do wrong? We are already are putting together bout six different teams to go three Africa countries and three others, which has oil and to find out from them, what did they do wrong and what did they do right, so that we don’t fall into the same pit. We need to learn the lessons that others learn bitterly,” he pointed out. Bartels urged the country not to depend solely on oil revenues, which he said could be detrimental to the nation’s development when the oil wells dry up. “If you take the emirates, they re developing their tourism industry, in the expectation that when the oil wells are dry, they would be in a position to have some income generating resource, which is tourism,” he noted. He explains the contract signed between the government and the oil company.

“The agreement has already been signed for the exploration and for us to be in a position to not only get a 10% carried interest, but GNPC (Ghana National Petroleum Company), which is representing the republic of Ghana, would have the option to acquire an additional two and half percent. But the real source of revenue from the country is the petroleum income tax of 35% of whatever they earn from the production of crude oil. And that is what we would be looking at in addition to a total of about 12.5% apart from royalties of five percent to be able to develop our nation,” he said.

Source: Peter Clottey -VOA