Government has appropriately responded to calls for it to guarantee local content participation in the oil and gas industry so as to enable Ghanaians to fully benefit from the resource and avoid the proverbial resource course.
The Ministry of Energy and Petroleum has launched a flagship initiative called the Enterprise Development Centre, (EDC) to help build the capacity of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) involved in the oil and gas business in the country to strategically position them for competition while taking advantage of the several opportunities the oil and gas industry offers to enhance their profitability.
At the launch of the Center last week, Minister for Energy and Petroleum, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah said the EDC initiative is a significant milestone policy intervention by government to achieve the nation?s local content agenda in the oil and gas sub-sector of the economy.? According to him, the EDC will serve as a catalyst for the expansion of SME businesses involved in the sector because the centre will equip these enterprises with the relevant skills in management, health and safety, accounting and general information on how to become active and quality suppliers of the needed services in the oil and gas industry.
The Minister called for fast learning, creativity, improved standards of doing business, competitiveness and best practices on the part of SMEs and individuals to enhance productivity and profitability.
The minister assured Ghanaians of his commitment to work with other stakeholders to expedite action on the early passage of the Local Content Bill currently before parliament.
?It is time for citizens to be in the forefront and EDC is the tool to close the critical gap between local businesses and the foreign ones by giving opportunity to local SMEs in the oil and gas industry,? he noted.
The Local Content Project Coordinator of the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, Madam Afuah Amissah said that the EDC organize general business skills training for SMEs in the sector in areas such as; managing SMEs, business ethics and legal compliance, business planning, budgeting and financial management, using database to manage information, introduction to oil and gas industry, oil and gas accounting, introduction to oil and gas contracting processes- terms and conditions , fundamentals of offshore environment, health and safety among others.
Afuah Amissah urged the public to seek for information on the oil and gas industry from the ministry for more insight.
The EDC as a facilitator of SMEs has a five year financial and technical support from Tullow Ghana Ltd, KOSMOS Energy, Anadarko, PetroSA and GNPC to help equip businesses through capacity building.
Source: Christian Kpesese (The Business Analyst)
