Franklin Cudjoe, the President of IMANI Africa, has warned Ghanaians not to let the Attorney General deceive them, indicating that the Attorney General lost and wasted millions of dollars on lawyers in the Eni and Vitol case involving Ghana.
He urged the Attorney General to stop pretending that he had achieved success for Ghana, pointing out that the Attorney General seemed oblivious to the fact that, in the end, no viable deal had been secured.
He pointed out that the Attorney General wasted the funds by engaging high-priced lawyers in a dispute that should have been settled amicably, had he provided prudent counsel.
“The government wanted Eni and Vitol, after over 7 billion dollars spent, some of it borrowed from the World Bank, to relinquish 55% of the oilfield. Obviously, no investor will ever agree to something this ridiculous”.
“In the end, the whole case rests on what the Tribunal declared. ‘The Tribunal, however, found that “in the circumstances in which they were issued,” the Unitization Directives breached the Petroleum Agreement. That is, the unitization was contrary to the applicable regulations and thereby breached Article 26(2) of the Petroleum Agreement.’”
Franklin Cudjoe
Franklin Cudjoe noted that the government and the Ministry of Energy, headed by Peter Amewu and later Matthew Opoku Prempeh, should not have made those extravagant claims for unitization in the first place. “It wasn’t economically sound at all”, he added.
Furthermore, he noted that everyone in Ghana knows that the country struck oil in 2007; however, the search for oil in Ghana began as far back as 1896, when occurrences were detected in the Western Region during colonial times.
“It took Ghana over a century to hit oil because finding “the black gold” is highly risky and crazily expensive”. – Franklin Cudjoe
Franklin Cudjoe noted that after attempting to utilize the country’s own resources to achieve this for a while, a strategic decision was made to shift the approach by allowing investors to come in and assume the bulk of the risk.
“Once de-risked, Ghana can then afford to play a bigger role in discovery and production. Investors had to be given attractive terms and assured of the security of their investment for this to work”.
“That is how come in 2007 when Ghana first struck oil, it was Irish and American investors at the forefront. Later, Italian and Swiss Investors called Eni and Vitol also discovered the second major field”.
Franklin Cudjoe
Dispute Over Oil Discovery Sparks Criticism of Attorney General
Moreover, Franklin Cudjoe noted that a Ghanaian investor also made a discovery.
However, he noted that due to the proximity of his find to the Eni-Vitol field, a dispute arose over whether the discoveries were connected and should therefore be developed jointly.
“It is in moments of such disputes in matters of such extreme national importance, that level-headed government officials show their strategic brilliance and competence”.
“When the matter was referred to the Attorney General, he saw clearly that this was an issue that Ghanaian civil society organizations like IMANI and ACEP have been working on for years. We had written loads about it. We have made speeches and offered suggestions. Yet what did he do?”
Franklin Cudjoe
Franklin Cudjoe accused the Attorney General of arrogantly ignoring all suggestions offered by civil society organizations (CSOs) and refusing to engage with local stakeholders on the issue.
He noted that the Attorney General did not even bother to advise the government to attempt an amicable settlement with the disputing investors.
The President of IMANI noted that, in his typical overbearing and brusque manner, the Attorney General hastily and recklessly rushed into international arbitration, hired the most expensive lawyers he could find, and attempted to push the government’s utterly indefensible and reckless position.
“What was this position? The government wanted Eni and Vitol, after over 7 billion dollars spent, some of it borrowed from the World Bank, to relinquish 55% of the oilfield. Obviously, no investor will ever agree to something this ridiculous”.
Franklin Cudjoe
Franklin Cudjoe remarked that although the Energy Minister’s lack of legal expertise mitigates his enthusiasm, the Attorney General’s justifications are harder to justify, given his legal training and expertise.
He observed that the Attorney General, yet again, showed a deep-seated disinterest in upholding fairness and justice.
“He thought he could use his “win at all cost” takashi model in international arbitration, too. And play chaskele with Ghana’s millions. Today, Ghana lost! What a shame!”
Franklin Cudjoe
Franklin Cudjoe emphasized that citizens expect to see the Attorney General exhibit remorse and, more crucially, demonstrate a commitment to changing his behavior and making things right.
He warned that if left unchecked, the Attorney General’s reckless disregard for justice and fairness, coupled with his arrogant fixation on trivial “victories”, would ultimately lead to the country’s demise.
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