Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, MP for Ellembelle
Mr. Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ellembelle, has refuted claims by the Ghana National Gas Company (GNGC) that it has pitched many projects in the Western Region.
According to the former Minister for Energy and Petroleum, he and other MPs (Member of Parliament) in the Nzema area were not against dotting projects by Ghana National Gas Company across the country but were concerned about the Corporate Social Responsibility of the Company in the seven operating Districts in the Western Region.
Mr. Buah was speaking to the GNA in an interview at Aiyinasi in the Ellembelle District of the Western Region on his concerns, following a statement by the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Ghana National Gas Company, Mr. Ernest Owusu Bempah that the Nzema area and the Western Region had benefitted greatly from operations of Ghana Gas.
Mr. Owusu Bempah was quoted as saying that Ghana Gas had cited projects executed by the Company as an astroturf, refurbishment of St. Martin De Porres Hospital, and an ongoing Trauma Hospital in the Ellembelle District.
Mr. Buah explained that the concern was not that Ghana Gas had done nothing, but that there was a clear recognition of the things done except that the call was for the company to do more in their operational areas in the Western Region.
The MP clarified that his concerns were not on the use of the Petroleum Revenue Management Fund, which is partly used for the national budget but the decision of the board to equally treat all the regions in Ghana as Ghana Gas’s operating area, citing this year’s CRS budget of GHC16 million from which each of the 16 Region’s in Ghana was equally allocated GHC1 million for development, including the Western Region.
The MP, however, said the decision by the Board of Ghana Gas to see the operating area as the whole of Ghana in terms of Corporate Social Responsibility is flawed and impacted all the Districts in the Western Region, which are the real operating areas.