Opinions of Saturday, 12 November 2016
Columnist: Lungu & Kwawukume
By: Prof. Lungu and Andy C.Y. Kwawukume
"....Mr. Mahama must now answer the simple questions...directly...Is Ghana receiving now, and is Ghana going to receive tomorrow, Fair-Share Oil?...The FTOS-Gh/PSA signatories, all those selfless people...are Ghanaian heroes and selfless supporters of Ghana...like Abou Ben Adhem...Respectfully, we want to think it is great to be part of crowds like Okyeame, GLU and Yahoo Groups...if only to know what people think about public policy...But there are Groupthink effects...Sadly,....some are more into Montie-Mouth-Talk-Talk and ChenChenMa Hand-Me-Down Ford SUVs, crappy heap of stories that will never pay for a single mile of road, build a single health clinic, or stop the billion-dollar loses in oil revenues...Surely, Ghana can afford a first-ever "Ghana Oil Contract Forum" in Ghana's own Ghana National Theater sponsored by the People... for the People, far and away from that spongy Accra International Conference Center... Press on FTOS-Gh Campaign/Petition..., " (Prof. Lungu and Andy C.Y. Kwawukume, 10 Nov. 16).
We've always wondered: Why should GIGS, FTOS-Gh organizers, and the Signatories to the Campaign give the government the benefit of doubt when the Government never provides complete and timely information and data about what the Government wants us to know is the "truth" with respect to Ghana's oil revenues?
The NDC government line and lie, we have been told repeatedly, is that the Concession or the variant now dubbed Ghana Hybrid System, is adopted by countries emerging into petroleum exploration.
But, has the NDC named a single country in Africa that has adopted a concession system for its sovereign oil within the last 2 decades?
Respectfully, we want to think it is great to be part of those types of crowds, Okyeame, GLU and Yahoo Groups, etc., if only to know what people think about issues that have important public policy implications.
But there are Groupthink effects, we can see!
Sadly, some, including government officials, are a lot more interested in using their Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, and group accounts to talk about their selfies and themselves, in all their grandeur.
They seem more in Montie-Mouth-Talk-Talk and ChenChenMa Hand-Me-Down Ford SUVs, just crappy heap of stories that will never pay for a single mile of road, build a single health clinic, or stop the billion-dollar loses in oil revenues.
Then there are those more enthralled by Pastor Obinim whips and deliverance by God, as they "Fa ma Nyame" (Leave all things to God), dazed, and worshipping in perpetual, heavenly stupor, foaming at the mouth at the mention of Woyome.
They want to "OccupyGhana", but yet, they operate under benign negligence of the $6bn-plus lost the last 5 years alone to foreign oil companies, among them KOSMOS of the United States and Brexit-UK's Tullow. Might it be the idea of so many zeroes attached to the lost $6 billion that is numbing their reflexes and stupefying their minds?
Sad news is, today, together, they all help create, support, and incentivize even bigger rat holes (ermm...corruption tunnels) and systems. Those are predatory systems that have now been morphed into MOHS by Mahama. Those are manna for his government officials and the foreign oil interests: no explanation necessary.
So, let us remind them that The People pay taxes for the Government to answer questions, directly, publicly, timely.
They ought to have already internalized the idea that we are not simply going to go away!
Because we are not simply going to go away, why can't our challengers (the Buahs, Dagadus, the Amins, the Hammonds, and all the like-minded), why have they not bothered to task the Government and themselves to use the same people Ghana has employed in the sundry communications bureaus to answer those important questions, in free, open forum?
Recall that at great expense and profit, Buah-Dagadu-Hammond, just had an international Summit on Ghana's oil last April. Attended by "Big Men" from all corners of the world, the Summit was proudly spear-headed by Dr Kwabena Donkor, the Censor, as we have noted previously.
Did they tell Ghanaians who funded that event, and why?
Did they tell Ghanaians where all the profits went?
Did they report to Ghana the impact on the average Ghanaian given amount spent?
How much of the millions of dollars generated ever remained in Ghana to pump up Ghana's economy?
Relatedly, have they bothered to communicate to DFID/UK that records exit that affirm there has been, and there still is, vociferous opposition to the oil contracts? Have they bothered to report to British tax payers that those factors are inherently "Risk Factors" to the UK-funded GOGIG "Revenue Management" program?
But we forget!
The "Big Men" from KOSMOS and Tullow, and the rest of the oil companies, are in fact using $29 million to take $6 billion from Ghanaians.
GOGIG Revenue Management, that DFID/UK Trojan Horse contract on Ghana!
And the leaders of Ghana are either conniving, they do not care, or, they simply do not have a clue.
We believe it is all that, and some more!
Why, for instance, do they prefer to meet in secluded/hidden places (in Ada, for example), when it is a lot cheaper and more efficient to have the meetings in Accra where they have all their big offices?
So, in closing, how about a serious, Ghana-centered/Ghana-Proud "Ghana Oil Contract Forum" to settle the matter?
How about settling the matter once and for all?
More than a decade and half into the 21st Century, how about settling the matter once and for all. How about settling the matter so even the elementary school child sitting under a tree in school in Mahama's Gonja/Bole hometown and environs, can understand that YES, indeed (1) Ghana has received, (2) Ghana is receiving, and (3) Ghana will continue to receive a Fair-Share of its own oil revenues in Kwame Nkrumah's Ghana? It is not rocket science, or is it? Surely, Ghana can afford a first-ever "Ghana Oil Contract Forum" in Ghana's own Ghana National Theater sponsored by the People, of the People, for the People, far and away from that spongy Accra International Conference Center. Do that, if only for symbolism.
But, maybe we should not hold our breath on that one on account of Mr. Mahama!
After all, the attitude that it is actually the "man in the street" who must use their own resources to do the work the government is already funded to do still rules in Ghana, from Accra to Bole, even while Mr. Mahama and the other "Big Men" take their large incomes and multiple benefits, month-after-month, year-after-year, all tax-free.
All those "Big Men"!
Kwame Nkrumah, right from the Polo Grounds to Independence Square, from Akosombo Dam to Addis Ababa, from Kulungugu to the United Nations in New York City, affirmed neo-colonial bondage and fought mightily to control and overthrow those plundering thieves, vampires, and rapists of Ghanaian resources.
And Kwame Nkrumah won in no small measure.
But now, by his own actions in the 21st Century, President Mahama is confirming the neo-colonial bondage and predatory racket plot that is his own racket, his new plundering scheme of a baby, MOHS.
Don't be fooled!
There is absolutely nothing healthy about the Ghana Hybrid System and Mahama' MOHS.
There is no Better Ghana underneath MOHS. MOHS gives Ghanaians a whole lot less than Ghana is actually entitled to receive as sovereign owner of all the oil resources.
MOHS is a contract on Ghana!
That is their agenda!
Press on GIGS!
Press on FTOS-Gh/PSA Campaign!
NOTES/SOURCES:
1. PSA Countdown Clock for Ghana. Fair-Trade Oil Share , (http://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?msg=Countdown%20to%20Production%20Sharing%20Agreement%20%28PSA%29%20for%20Ghana&p0=4&swk=1&year=2015&month=11&day=30&hour=0&min=0&sec=0).
2. Need more information? Visit http://ghanahero.com/FTOS_GH_Campaign.html.
SUBJ: Mahama Oil Hybrid System (MOHS) is confirmation of neo-colonial bondage (Part 2), by Prof. Lungu and Andy C.Y. Kwawukume.
Support Fair-Trade Oil Share Ghana (FTOS-Gh) Campaign/Petition:
https://www.change.org/p/ghana-fair-trade-oil-share-psa-campaign-ftos-gh-psa/
Brought to you courtesy www.GhanaHero.com©10th November, 2016.
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