The spokesperson for the Civil Society Organization in the Extractive Industry, Dr. Steve Manteaw says the Gold for Oil Program is a huge corruption risk for the nation.
Reports were rife that the first consignment of oil was purchased with cash from the Bank of Ghana.
Commenting on the program on the Morning Starr with Naa Dedei Tettey, Mr. Manteaw stated that he believes the nondisclosure of the terms of the agreement among others creates lots of suspicion on the program.
“People will be doing what ordinary people consider irrational because of the benefit they are gaining from it. There has not been any disclosure in terms of how the off-taker of Ghana’s gold will be selected. So without that disclosure, if I am the person leading the process I can just look for a friend from Dubai or the Middle East or wherever we intend to bring the petroleum product from, then enter into some negotiation with them.
“So we sell the gold to you at a premium or at a discounted price so that there will be some gain in there and then we can split the gain between the two of us. I am not saying that is what has happened but without transparency that is probable,” Mr. Manteaw stated.
He continued: “Again, there is no disclosure in terms of how the supplier of the petroleum product is going to be selected. We have been told that the supplier of the 40,000 metric ton that has come through was delivered by Lethasco. How Lethasco was selected, you and I don’t know the terms of the transaction and pricing of the petroleum product you and I don’t know.”
The spokesperson further stated that Ghanaians cannot determine the terms of the transaction thus whether the price given to Lethasco was a fair price or not adding that “again there is some inherent corruption risk there.”
