Preventing the Oil Curse Situation in Ghana: The Role of Civil Society Organisations

Abstract

Since Ghana started commercial production of oil in 2011, the overarching concern has been how to avoid a resource curse. This article examines the role civil society organisations (CSOs) have played in preventing Ghana from falling into the oil curse situation. It notes specific civil society initiatives that aim to promote transparency and accountability in oil governance. The Civil Society Platform on Oil and Gas has facilitated the creation of legislative frameworks, checks and monitoring systems to keep government and oil companies on their toes even though weak capacity, politicisation and lack of access to information remain a challenge to CSOs' effective mobilisation. They need to pursue collaborative rather than adversarial relationships with the government, promote participatory learning in their internal management and instigate the government to promote macroeconomic stability, wealth creation, infrastructure development and employment for the youth with oil revenues.

‘The Oil is Drilled in Takoradi, but the Money is Counted in Accra’: The Paradox of Plenty in the Oil City, Ghana

“…As alluded to above, the influx of oil money and the country’s socio-economic development are linked in complex and multi-faceted ways across diverse sectors and vary both temporally and spatially. Some of the earlier studies on STMA have increasingly depicted the city as becoming an important hub for both local and trans-national economic activities (see Debrah and Graham, 2015; Eduful and Hooper, 2015; Obeng-Odoom, 2015). The current study highlights the tangible benefits ordinary residents in STMA enjoy from the oil bounty.…”

Urban Impacts of Resource Booms: the Emergence of Oil-Led Gentrification in Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana

“…Funds that attempt to direct resource revenues to achieve public objectives, such as suggested here, can be found in Norway, Chile, Alaska (USA), Venezuela, Kuwait and Oman (Fasano 2000). Ghana has also established several oilrelated funds, but the revenues are generally intended for longer-term economic stabilization (Debrah and Graham 2015;Bank of Ghana 2013). Directing some of these resources, or additional oil-generated funds, towards counteracting the adverse urban impacts of the oil boom is one possible policy response to the patterns of gentrification documented in this study.…”

Politics of Oil and Gas in Ghana

“…Many research works on extractive resources have focused on the contradictions related to oil discoveries and production (Gelb et al, 1988;Karl, 1997;Karl, 1997), with some concentrating on how it leads to poor economic growth (Auty, 1993;Roll, 2011;Sachs & Warner, 1999). Additionally, others have looked at how natural resource discovery and production causes high levels of poverty (Ross, 2003(Ross, , 2007 and civil war (Collier & Hoeffler, 1998), and furthermore, Regarding the literature on the oil and gas sector in Ghana, earlier studies including new studies on the sector have focused on how to manage people's expectations (Asante, 2009;Gyampo, 2011), how to utilise the proceeds to save the country from the resource curse syndrome (Asafu-Adjaye, 2009;Gyampo, 2014), how to handle the inter-sectoral impacts of oil production (Asafu-Adjaye, 2010), the challenges facing the sector within the first 100 days of oil production (Gyampo et al, 2011), preventing the oil curse in Ghana and the contribution of civil society organisation (Debrah & Graham, 2015).…”

“…Regarding the literature on the oil and gas sector in Ghana, earlier studies including new studies on the sector have focused on how to manage people’s expectations (Asante, 2009; Gyampo, 2011), how to utilise the proceeds to save the country from the resource curse syndrome (Asafu-Adjaye, 2009; Gyampo, 2014), how to handle the inter-sectoral impacts of oil production (Asafu-Adjaye, 2010), the challenges facing the sector within the first 100 days of oil production (Gyampo et al, 2011), preventing the oil curse in Ghana and the contribution of civil society organisation (Debrah & Graham, 2015).…”