Essay Competition for Ghana’s oil

Wednesday November 17, 2010

By William Yaw Owusu

Wednesday November 17, 2010
The Jubilee First Oil national Essay Competition was launched in Accra last week with a call on the government to strive to use oil revenue for accelerated development.

The competition is in two categories for pupils in Junior and Senior High Schools (junior) on one hand and students in tertiary institutions (senior) on the other hand.

It forms part of activities to get the youth involved and harness their ideas on how to manage Ghana’s oil for the benefit of the people. The competition has been designed to coincide with the pouring of the country’s first oil.

Under the competition, student entering the junior category will write on the topic “To what use should Ghana put its oil wealth” – (not more than 500) while these entering the senior category would tackle the topic “Ghana’s oil is for development; outline some developmental benefits of Ghana’s oil find” – (not more than 750 word), and entries should reach the secretariat by November 30, 2010.

The five-member panel to review all entries expects students to present ideas in balanced, objective, and also display integrity and resourcefulness and communicate ideas to make the issue relevant. They are expected to send the entries to firstoilessay@yahoo.com or firstoilessay@gmail.com or post it to P.O. Box CT 5976, Cantonments, Accra where winners will prizes including educational grants.

Launching the competition, Mary Quaye, Director of Pre-Tertiary Education at the Ministry of Education who represented Elizabeth Amoah-Tetteh, a Deputy Minister of Education said the competition offers the youth an opportunity to be part of an important national issue which is the discovery of oil.

She said “today marks a changing environment in corporate Ghana’s attitude towards the youth. This opportunity is a unique test to our young ones as they are put in the position to think as future leaders.”

She said the competition forms part of the efforts to ensure that the oil find does not become a curse, saying “through their research our youth will realise for themselves that we will reap the benefits of this industry as long as certain measures are observed.”

Dr. Mawuli Adjei, a lecturer at the University of Ghana, who is also a member of the judging panel, stressed the need for the youth to be given the opportunity to contribute significantly towards national development.

Elizabeth Bentil, a Manager at Tullow Oil, said the Jubilee Oilfield partners would continue to sensitize the youth on the oil find, saying “what we are doing is a form of exhibition to let the youth know how oil is drilled and the benefits for the country.”

The partners of the Jubilee Oilfield include Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, EO Group Ghana Limited, Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Kosmos Energy, SABRE Oil and Gas and Tullow Oil.