UNDP promises assistance for Ghana’s oil sector
The United Nations Development Programme has promised to assist Ghana to develop a framework that will ensure that the country’s new found oil will become part of its blessings.
In a press release issued following a three-day visit to Ghana of Helen Clark, the UNDP Administrator, it praised the country for making advances in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
According to the release Clark met President John Atta Mills and other government officials and discussed among other things the prospects for continued growth and development, and the country’s expected graduation to middle-income country, which will have important implications for its access to development financing.
Citing Ghana’s impending oil and gas exploitation, Helen Clark said that “Ghana has a great story to tell about how investing in agriculture drove down poverty, and there are many blessings to share: a successful democratic transition, the establishment of solid institutions, legal reforms… We are prepared to help Ghana put a framework in place to ensure oil becomes part of those blessings, with robust planning and budgeting,” the release indicated.
The release noted that by 2006, Ghana became the first African country to have almost halved the proportion of people living in extreme poverty. The country has implemented several flagship programmes that have helped to accelerate the country’s MDG achievement, including a school feeding programme that covers over half a million pupils, a national youth employment programme employing an average of 100,000 youths annually.
The country has also improved the delivery of services in various state-run sectors such as the police, the health care system, and has increased the number of women in decision-making positions.
Ghana announced the discovery in commercial quantities of oil in June 2007. Commercial production is expected in November this year, when the country will produce its first 120,000 barrels of oil.
The country’s economy is also expected to see growth when oil production begins. The Bank of Ghana for instance has predicted a GDP growth of above 20% by 2011 following commercial production of oil in the country by December 2010.
Ghana’s GDP growth was projected to be within the levels of 5% to 5.7% in 2010.
By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi
Great story telling and government institutional leaders, local, district leaders will be driving big V8 vehicles, big mansions, their children attending elite Universities while Farmers, low income earners as well as the poor continue to struggle even to make an ends meat. It been like that since the Dutch, British, French, Portugese enslave the continent build the Rail system and wright in front of our eyes our Gold, Diamond, all good minerals, humans was haul to the port , ship overseas to develop their countries. Our leaders when they are sick, they travel outside to seek medical attention thinking Doctors outside are better equip instead of equiping local hospitals with Good, highly train, with good pay to manage the nation hospitals.
The shallow, narrow brains our leaders have over the years have cost our nation a great deal by setting this nation back for many generations. The selfishness of individuals in Ghana society have made the nation as well as the continent beggers and poor with huge minerals as well as enslave, oppress and allow oppressors of advance world think Africa cannot eradicate poverty, diseases, hunger, malnutrition, education as well as call the DARK Continent.
Training the continent how to fish with better skills as well as highly Mechanise farming, rural industralization, decentralization will eradicate poverty, crime.
BY ENRICHING FEW INDIVIDUALS SLOW THE PROCESS OF GROWTH, OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE ENTIRE NATION AS WELL AS THE CONTINENT AS WHOLE.
OAU NEED TO DISCUSS CONSTRUCTIVE AND MEANINGFUL IDEAS OF NATION BUILDING TO HELP CURRENT AND GENERATION TO COME INSTEAD OF ALLOWING THE ECONOMIC POWER WORLD TAKE THE CONTINENT MINERALS, HIGHLY EDUCATED CITIZEENS TO DEVELOP THEIR NATION LEAVING AFRICA IN THE DARK FULL OF DISEASES ie AIDS.
WHAT KIND OF LEGACY ARE WE LEAVING BEHIND ONCE THIS LIFE JOURNEY ENDS