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Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Journalists Urged To Hold SOEs To Account

Mr. Kuyole addressing the journalists

Executive Director at Centre for Extractive Development Africa, Emmanuel Kuyole, has asked journalists to hold State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) especially those in the extractive sector to account.

According to Mr. Kuyole, SOEs when left without check could lead to creation of “states within states” where they become lords of their own. This he says can lead to inefficient revenue collection, unaccountable expenses, corruption among others.

He therefore charged the journalists to be interested in the corporate governance structure and transparency mechanisms of the companies, concern themselves with clear and appropriate rules set by the SOEs in mobilizing revenue and to seek for clarity in the institutional roles of the SOEs.

Training

This came up when some journalists were given specialized training on how to play effective oversight role in promoting good governance of State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) and State Participation in the Extractives Sector. The three days training which began on Thursday 7th November to Saturday 9th November, took place at the Golden Tulip Hotel in Accra and brought together journalists and editors from the whole of Ghana. The training, held under the theme “Strengthening Media Capacity to Play an Effective Oversight Role in Promoting Good Governance of State-Owned Enterprises and State Participation in the Extractives Sector,” was organized by Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI), a civil society organisation (CSO) that helps people to realize the benefits of their countries’ endowments of oil, gas and minerals.

It was to grow journalists’ ability to interrogate and interpret public debates on SOE governance and ensure balanced reporting with immediate objectives, to build the capacity of the media to be able to hold the Ghana National Petroleum Company (GNPC) and other extractives sector SOEs to account on corporate governance issues.

GNPC to create strategic fuel stocks

Speaking at the workshop, the General Manager in charge of Sustainability at GNPC, Dr. Kwame Baah-Nuako, said the GNPC would enable the creation of strategic fuel stocks as a buffer against international supply shocks and to also create fuel self-sufficiency to cushion Ghana against adverse geopolitical effects.

He added that the GNPC is also constructing a modern research and technology center that will offer an electronic storage center for GNPC geoscience, engineering and production data.

By Nana Kwasi

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