Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has disclosed that government will be tough on inspecting oil and gold resources exported out of the country.
According to him, government is working on a regulation that will give some state agencies the power to check and inspect total production of oil and gold before it leaves the country.
Speaking at the 69th Annual New Year School and Conference at the Great Hall of the University of Ghana, Dr. Bawumia bemoaned the practice where the nation is shortchanged in its natural resources.
“We are going to demand a transparent accounting of our natural resources that we are exporting. For the most part, we are just told, we are exporting this amount of gold. How sure are we that is the amount of gold that is been exported. We have been told we exported so much of oil, how sure are we, that that is really the amount of oil that is coming out?” he queried.
Dr. Bawumia maintained that government will independently vet figures presented by oil and gold companies to make sure it corresponds with the actual situation on the ground.
“We are going to insist on a transparent accounting for our natural resources. We are coming out with some kind of regulations on this soon. In other countries for example, it’s really in the control of government until you export it, so that we know what it is. So we are going to talk with the mining companies and the oil companies,” he stressed.
He was optimistic the exercise will be a useful one that will help Ghana block leakages that result in the country losing its natural resources through export.
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By: Lawrence Segbefia/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana
