COMPANIES AROUND OIL FIND ADOPT PLANS (PAGE 20)

IN the past few years, when oil was discovered in a commercial quantities off-shore the Cape Three Points in the Western Region, some communities within the vicinity of the oil find have been developing comprehensive programmes to ensure that they derive maximum benefits from the oil find.
This is because those communities have been wallowing in abject poverty, as most of them earn a living from subsistence farming, which is from hand to mouth.
Besides, they have taken cognisance of the fact that mining communities in the Western Region have not received the maximum benefits they deserved with all the environmental and other problems they face as a result of the mining activities.
For that reason, instead of mining contributing to the improvement of the living conditions of the affected communities, it rather worsens the situation.
Sometimes, the situation results in frequent agitation and confrontations leading to fatalities.
To avoid a similar situation, the communities near the area where the oil has been found, are drawing up meaningful development plans to ensure that they derive the maximum benefits so that the oil find becomes a blessing to them not a curse.
In order to realise the laudable dream, a consortium of three investors in the oil and gas industry have developed a sustainable economic development and training initiative towards the sustainable socio-economic development of communities around the Cape Three Points.
The companies are Can-African Development Associates, Sigma-Basestar Technical Services (Ghana) Limited and Rangeland Engineering-Canada. Copies of the documents have been presented to the Ahanta Traditional Council in the Western, a beneficiary of the project.
The consortium will conduct fundraising rallies to raise GH¢5 million from the government as well as the private sector as regional development fund towards the creation of business and other economic activities in the Cape Three Point area.
According to the document, the investors’ primary purpose is to obtain resources to undertake a four-year pilot project to increase the capacities of communities around the Cape Three Point to identify and pursue viable economic development initiatives.
They will also develop five viable and sustainable oil related business opportunities to diversify the communities’ economic base which is currently focused on small-scale farming and fishing activities and develop community-supported economic development organisations in 10 communities.
They will train 100 economic development officers to promote oil related business, assist in job creation and skills development.
The investors will conduct research activities to provide fact-finding data to enhance development activities and also initiate community environmental and development awareness campaign programmes to gain support from the people towards the project and evaluate the pilot project objectives for a successful indicators and implementation strategies.
According to the document, the purpose of the initiative is to improve the capacity of the people in the Cape Three Point area in order to get access to employment and income opportunities from the newly found oil drilling projects in the area.
The Ahanta Traditional Council in the Ahanta West District has organised a mini-durbar at Busua for a delegation of the investors during which copies of the sustainable economic development and training initiative were presented to the President of the council, Otunfuo Baidoo Bonsoe XV.
Speaking at the durbar, the chief of Aketekyi, Nana Bonzah, stated that the initiative was synonymous to the sowing of the mustard seed and that if well nurtured, would help to improve the living conditions of the people in the area.
He said the Ahanta area was deprived, and was among the least developed areas in the country, adding that despite living in the midst of plenty of natural resources, the area continued to wallow in poverty.
Nana Bonzah stated that the presence of the investors was by divine intervention, and therefore, called for co-operation and collaboration between the people and the investors towards the implementation of the economic development initiative.
The Executive Chairman of Sigma-Basestar Technical Services (Ghana) Limited and leader of the delegation, Dr S.M.O. Amachree, said the consortium would share their expertise and experience with the people in the area and help them on how to articulate to benefit from the emerging oil industry.
He stated that the model which had been developed would help the people to take advantage of the oil industry and to ensure that they derived maximum benefit from the oil industry.