A coalition of 29 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), including the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Chamber of Petroleum Consumers Ghana (COPEC), Imani Centre for Policy and Education, and 25 others, is demanding the prompt removal of Opoku Ahweneeh Danquah, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), and Freddie Blay, the Board Chairman.
The CSOs accuse Danquah and Blay of working against the state's interests, particularly in light of GNPC's intention to sell a 50% stake in Jubilee Holdings Limited (JOHL) to PetroSA, disregarding the significant revenue potential that this interest holds for Ghana.
During a press conference on Tuesday, May 23, Abdul Karim Mohammed, the Coordinator for the coalition, expressed concerns about the continued presence of these individuals, who are closely associated with petroleum operations, and emphasized the risks they pose to Ghana's interests.
Mr Mohammed highlighted that Energy Minister Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh opposes a decision made by GNPC Board Chairman Mr Blay to offer an interest in Ghana's oil fields to the South African oil company PetroSA.
Reportedly, Blay, in his capacity as GNPC Board Chairman, wrote to PetroSA, proposing an equal split of the interest held by GNPC's subsidiary Jubilee Oil Holdings Ltd.
“It is a viable field, and it is giving us a lot of money if we allow this to go forward. What it means is that PetroSA will be entitled to 50 per cent of the earnings from the field, whereas they have not had any role in developing the field to the point where it is now viable,” explained Mr Blay.
“The information we have is that the Minister for Energy has objected to this transaction, but the Chairman of GNPC Board is pushing this transaction to the extent that the Minister of Energy had written to the Jubilee House over this transaction.”
The CSOs believe that the Energy Minister's objections are valid and raise concerns about the transaction, leading them to demand the immediate removal of Danquah and Blay from their positions at GNPC.
