. . . But Minority wants GNPC boss replaced

Page 14, June 27, 2009
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah & Daniel Nkrumah

THE Minority in Parliament has urged the President to reconsider the appointment of Nana Boakye Asafu-Adjaye as the acting Chief Executive of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC).

According to the Minority, the appointment of Nana Asafu-Adjaye, who is former Country Director of Vanco Energy Company, presents a potential case of conflict of interest, because Vanco was negotiating an agreement with the GNPC and the Government of Ghana for oil exploratory activities.

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Essikado-Ketan and former Attorney General, Mr Joe Ghartey, argued strongly against the appointment of Nana Asafu-Adjaye, stressing that by virtue of the GNPC’s position as the major regulator of the sector, there was the need for the President to reconsider that appointment.

Mr Ghartey defied interventions from First Deputy Speaker, who argued that the ministry also had regulatory functions and stressed that “it is quite clear that the major regulator is GNPC,” adding that “the Ministry of Energy deals with policies and not regulations”.

He said Nana Asafu-Adjaye’s association with Vanco as the Country Director raised concerns, and urged the House to impress on the President to reconsider the appointment of Nana Asafu-Adjaye.
Quoting Matthew 27: 24, he said the Minority wished to take inspiration from Pontius Pilate and dissociate itself from the appointment of the acting boss of the GNPC, although it fully endorsed the agreement.
The MP for Manhyia, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, also shared similar sentiments and said the appointment of the acting GNPC boss presented a kind of conflict of interest he described as “revolving door politics”.
“The conflict of interest is so glaring; if we say that we are not sure, then we are behaving like ostriches,” he emphasised.
He said the Minority was not against the agreement with Vanco, but advised the President to appoint Nana Asafu-Adjaye in another position.
However, those assertions were countered by the First Deputy Speaker, Mr Edward Doe Adjaho, who said Nana Asafu-Adjaye was an objective personality who had demonstrated that he had the interest of the country at heart.
He said with Nana Asafu-Adjaye in the saddle as GNPC boss, the country had negotiated agreement with Vanco when compared to the previous one ratified by the Parliament of Ghana in 2002.
He said the concerns raised over his appointment were as a result of the fact that there were no clear provisions on conflict of interest, and said it was time to pass appropriate legislation on conflict of interest.
For his part, the Minority Leader, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, argued that though his side of the House supported the agreement, they were against the former representative of VANCO being made the acting boss of the GNPC.
He said there was no doubt that his position would negatively affect other oil companies who were dealing with the country to the advantage of VANCO.
The Majority Leader, Mr Alban Bagbin, thanked members of the House for supporting the agreement and stated their comments were legitimate.
He sided with the suggestion by the committee that efforts should be made for the enactment of a law to properly define the parameters of conflict of interest.
Mr Bagbin asked the executive to take comments made on the floor of the House on board, so that the right decisions could be taken to make the country’s oil find to be a blessing and not a curse.