ACET DIAGNOSES OIL SECTOR CHALLENGE

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Wedenesday, October 9, 2013

The African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET) has held its maiden workshop for civil society groups in an attempt to strengthen them to constructively engage policymakers about issues that impact the people of oil-rich countries.

Participants from the ECOWAS region discussed best ways to harness the natural resources for the benefit of the people and emphasized accountability, good governance, conflict minerals, human rights, business ethics, as well as physical and social environment.

The Accra workshop, which is under ACET’s ‘Sustainable Resource Series,’ was in partnership with the Center for Democratic Development-Ghana (CDD) with sponsorship from the Ford Foundation.

ACET is an economic policy institute supporting the long-term growth of African countries through economic transformation.

They expect that by 2025 all African countries will drive their own growth and transformation agenda led by the private sector and supported by capable states with strong institutions and good policies.

In November 2013, ACET will release the inaugural African Transformation Report.

According to ACET, oil and gas sector would serve as one of the most promising springboards for economic transformation in most African countries if the sector is governed by policies that prioritize accountability and transparency, value addition beyond primary production, public-private partnership (PPP), domestic linkages with local economies and reinvestment of the revenue into productive sectors of the economy.

According to Sheila Karma ACET’s Director, Extractive Resources Services, the centre’s advisory work engages and works with policymakers at the country level to design programmes tailor-made to respond to the unique country challenges.

She said as part of the advocacy work stream, ACET hosts periodic seminars for policymakers, investors, and civil society groups to debate development challenges, adding “in so doing, the programme positions ACET strategically to broker constructive dialogue.”

She said “this role is crucial in bringing policymakers and their partners together to respond effectively to the variety of governance issues.”

She said that the extractive resource service support programmes are administered in Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Zambia, with ongoing discussions to expand the programme to Ethiopia.

She also said that in 2012, the centre collaborated with the oil and gas division of the World Bank to convene a dialogue on best practice in environmental management among regulators in the West African economic development region, adding “in the same year, ACET convened a forum of regional policymakers to discuss challenges and opportunities relating to local content policy formulation in the mineral, oil and gas sector.”