We’ll account for every pesewa of oil money – Mills
President John Evans Atta Mills has interacted with a delegation from Tullow Oil and assured Ghanaians that the government would account for every pesewa which would accrue from oil revenues in the country.
He underlined that the government held resources of the country, including the huge oil deposits in trust for the people and for which it was incumbent upon it to disclose fully to the public every transaction associated with the oil industry.
The delegation from Tullow, which was led by its Chief Executive Officer, Mr Aidan Heavey, was at the Castle to brief the President on developments in the oil industry.
Receiving the delegation yesterday, President Mills said the government would judiciously use revenue from the sale of oil to improve the quality of life of the people.
He said on no account would he tolerate state officials who abused their offices to enrich themselves at the expense of the people who are living in deprivation.
President Mills further explained that those who had planned to engage themselves in scandalous activities in order to line their pockets with proceeds from the oil money would be severely dealt with.
He said the art of governance was to use available resources, including oil money, to provide infrastructure to open up the economy of the country in order to attract more foreign direct investment.
President Mills said the government was not in power to share spoils but to use the mandate entrusted to it by the people to provide more job opportunities which would enable them to lead decent and dignified lives.
He said the government had learnt veritable lessons from countries where the discovery of oil had brought about agitation and civil unrest leading to the emasculation of local economies.
President Mills said the government had instituted numerous interventions which would ensure that revenue from the sale of oil became a blessing to the people.
He thanked Tullow Oil for their strenuous work which culminated in the discovery of huge quantities of oil in Ghanaian waters.
President Mills assured the oil company of the government’s support in the discharge of its activities and also urged other companies interested in the country’s oil industry to plan to invest in its ancillary services.
For his part, the CEO of Tullow Oil, Mr Heavey, said the discovery of oil in Ghana presented exciting times in the development of the country since the industry would open up a number of opportunities for the people and the country.
He said his company looked forward to a fruitful co-operation and collaboration with the people and government of Ghana.
Source: Daily Graphic