National Security grabs car stealing syndicate

...Carl Wilson behind the deals
Posted: The Chronicle | Friday, 11 December 2009

By Charles Takyi-Boadu

President John Evans Atta Mills may have received all the praise for being an incorruptible man, but on the blind sight of the noble Professor, some of his men may be doing things that have the tendency of putting his government in a bad light.

This is exactly what happened on Wednesday, when confusion broke out on the precincts of the National Security Secretariat (Castle Annex), between operatives of the National Security and the customs Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) on one hand and a car syndicate, led by one Mr. Carl Wilson, alias ‘Rambo’, the chairman of the Disposal of Forfeited Vehicles Committee (DFVC) at the Tema Harbour on the other hand.

This was after the security agents impounded a 4x4 Chrysler vehicle that Mr. Wilson, together with his bodyguard whose name was only given as Daniel, and an Ivorian called Nana Kublan Olivier, had taken from the port, and were attempting to re-spray it at Asylum Down in Accra.

Soon after the car had been impounded, Mr. Wilson engaged the National Security operatives in a heated debate, during which he claimed that the said vehicle was to be given to ex-President Jerry John Rawlings, an assertion the ex-President refuted when he was reached on phone by the security operatives for verification.

Mr. Rawlings denied knowing Mr. Wilson, let alone, request for a confiscated car from him.

Credible sources at the National Security, who witnessed the incident, told the Chronicle newspaper that Mr. Rawlings subsequently sent three of his bodyguards, led by one Dr. Lawson, to disassociate him from the stolen car.

Having been embarrassed by the ex-President’s denials, Mr. Wilson then changed his story that the stolen 4x4 Chrysler vehicle was rather meant for the Department of State Protocol, much to the amusement of the security operatives. The Spokesman for the ex President, Kofi Adams, told the Chronicle that they were not aware of any such request for the vehicle.

Though he admitted knowing Mr. Wilson, Mr. Adams could however not tell whether the Office of the President had issued any such directive for a vehicle to be sent to Mr. Rawlings. For this reason, he said they have asked for an investigation into the issue, since they could not ascertain its veracity or otherwise.

According to our sources, the National Security and its related security agencies had closely monitored Mr. Wilson and his group for some time now, due to the rampant and strange circumstance at which confiscated cars at the Golden Jubilee Terminal at the Tema Harbour get missing without any trace.

However, the paper’s sources said Wilson and his group have been selling the vehicles to some second hand cars dealers in town, who buy these cars from them after they have been confiscated from their original owners.

But luck eluded him on Wednesday, when the security operatives caught him pants down, after trailing him from Tema.

A security source told the Chronicle that at about 6:00pm, during the day in question, the 4x4 Chrysler vehicle was moved by a towing truck with registration number GT 2454 E, with an inscription Koo Town Services. The truck moved from Tema to Accra, got to the Castle junction, as though it was heading for the Presidency, turned and headed towards Castle Annex, only to drive past the famous Blue Gate to Asylum Down, where it stopped at a garage.

Mr. Wilson is said to have joined Daniel Olivier and demanded that the 4x4 Chrysler vehicle, which was still bearing a foreign registration number plate, be sprayed in the night, but the owner became alarmed and explicitly told them to leave his garage but they refused and rather chose to change the registration number to avoid suspicion, and have it sprayed in a different garage.

It was at this stage that the security operatives pounced on them, and arrested Wilson and his colleagues, and impounded the car. The National Security Coordinator, Colonel Larry Gbevlo Lartey (Rtd), admitted when The Chronicle contacted him on phone, that there were some issues between his outfit and Carl Wilson, but said The Chronicle information was not entirely true, and asked the Chronicle to cross-check from his sources and get back to him later.

All efforts to reach him again, as agreed upon earlier, proved futile as his phone had been switched off. Carl Wilson also who failed to pick calls put through to his cell phone to get his side of the story. He also did not reply to text messages sent to him.

Meanwhile, some CEPS officers are asking the government to probe the activities of Mr. Wilson at the Tema Harbour, to know the true number of cars that have gone missing and the amount involved.

In order to avoid a Niger-Delta situation in Ghana

A-G pushes for review of oil & gas laws
… For effective management of resources
Posted: The Chronicle |Wednesday, December 09, 2009

By Charles Takyi - Boadu

Ghana seems to be learning a lot of lessons from neighbouring West-African countries, including Nigeria, which are having a tough time dealing with the challenges presented them by their oil find and exploration.
Though there are existing legal and regulatory frameworks governing the oil industry in the country, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mrs. Betty Mould-Iddrisu, says the government is striving to modify it.

Speaking at the All Africa Energy Summit, which opened in Accra yesterday, she noted “Ghana must rapidly make the transition from a country competing to attract valid oil and gas investment, into one that is a major producer.”

The transition, according to her, is complex, and must be managed with skill, in order to avoid the pitfalls other countries have suffered.

In order to achieve this, she said the government intends to maximise the country’s revenue from the oil and gas discoveries, effectively manage oil and gas operations to ensure proper development of fields, maximise local content in the industry i.e. the participation of Ghanaians in the revenue associated with the industry, to facilitate job creation and introduce transparency into the nascent industry in Ghana.

Considering the fact that there are many aspects to an effective transition, the Attorney-General says one indispensable component was the establishment of a solid legal framework, to ensure that Ghana’s interests are maximised and fully protected.

She stressed the need for Ghana, as a country, to “approach the industry from a position of legal strength,” laying emphasis on the fact that “we must confront head-on the legal challenges of becoming a major oil and gas producer.”

In the light of this, Mrs. Mould-Iddrisu said, “it is imperative that Ghana’s legal regime, relating to the oil and gas industry, is reviewed and adapted to Ghana’s new condition as a major oil producer.”

This, according to her, might include the need to review and update the Petroleum Exploration and Production law PNDCL 84, issuance of Petroleum Regulations in accordance with PNDCL 84, and also review and update the country’s petroleum taxation and revenue laws.

“The current stabilisation clauses may also have to be looked at again, since they are too broad, and were incorporated at a time when Ghana did not know its oil and gas potential,” she indicated.

She however noted that the government had already begun the review of the regulatory framework, indicating, “the Ministry of Energy has drafted a local content policy and proposals on various regulations, which are in the process of being referred to the Ministry of Justice for drafting.”

The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice also talked about a new oil and gas revenue bill, which seeks to manage revenue from the oil and gas industry, and ensure transparency, stressing, “the oil and gas tax law has been reviewed and incorporated in the general income tax law.”

Meanwhile, she said there were proposals for the formation of an independent regulator, which, according to her, are being made ready for preparation into a bill, and it is expected that most, if not all, of the proposed review legislation, would be ready by the production date in 2010.

According to her, the amendment expands the responsibility for the regulation of activities in the Petroleum Up and Mid Stream sub-sectors.

The objective of these amendments, she said, was to regulate, oversee and monitor activities in the upstream, midstream and downstream petroleum sector, and support the national policy objectives of the up, mid, and downstream petroleum sector.

Whilst admitting that Ghana had not been given much time to prepare for the transition, the A-G said, “we are determined to make our oil find a blessing, and not a curse, by putting the appropriate legal and regulatory structures in place, to ensure that Ghana gets the most out of its oil and gas reserves, and runs an industry that is transparent and best-practices oriented.”

Available information has it that the PNDC Law 64 established the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, and makes it responsible for the development and production and disposal of oil and gas.

PNDCL 84 provides a framework for the management of oil and gas exploration development and production, and makes it clear that all petroleum existing in its natural state, is the property of Ghana, and also that the exploration, development and production of petroleum, shall be done only in accordance with the terms of a petroleum agreement that is regulated and executed with the Minister of Energy, and the interest acquired cannot be assigned to any other person, without the prior consent in writing of the Minister of Energy.

Mrs. Betty Mould-Iddrisu believes this is essential, because the rights to petroleum products in its natural state is the property of the people of Ghana vested in the government, since the law provides the basic terms of every petroleum agreement.

It also spells out the rights and objectives of the parties, and the sanctions to be applied in case of breaches.

Section 32 of the Act provides for regulations to be made in 24 areas of oil and gas management, unfortunately, since 1982 most of them have not been made.

In order to avoid a Niger-Delta situation in Ghana

A-G pushes for review of oil & gas laws
… For effective management of resources
Posted: The Chronicle | Wednesday, December 09, 2009

By Charles Takyi - Boadu

Ghana seems to be learning a lot of lessons from neighbouring West-African countries, including Nigeria, which are having a tough time dealing with the challenges presented them by their oil find and exploration.
Though there are existing legal and regulatory frameworks governing the oil industry in the country, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mrs. Betty Mould-Iddrisu, says the government is striving to modify it.

Speaking at the All Africa Energy Summit, which opened in Accra yesterday, she noted “Ghana must rapidly make the transition from a country competing to attract valid oil and gas investment, into one that is a major producer.”

The transition, according to her, is complex, and must be managed with skill, in order to avoid the pitfalls other countries have suffered.

In order to achieve this, she said the government intends to maximise the country’s revenue from the oil and gas discoveries, effectively manage oil and gas operations to ensure proper development of fields, maximise local content in the industry i.e. the participation of Ghanaians in the revenue associated with the industry, to facilitate job creation and introduce transparency into the nascent industry in Ghana.

Considering the fact that there are many aspects to an effective transition, the Attorney-General says one indispensable component was the establishment of a solid legal framework, to ensure that Ghana’s interests are maximised and fully protected.

She stressed the need for Ghana, as a country, to “approach the industry from a position of legal strength,” laying emphasis on the fact that “we must confront head-on the legal challenges of becoming a major oil and gas producer.”

In the light of this, Mrs. Mould-Iddrisu said, “it is imperative that Ghana’s legal regime, relating to the oil and gas industry, is reviewed and adapted to Ghana’s new condition as a major oil producer.”

This, according to her, might include the need to review and update the Petroleum Exploration and Production law PNDCL 84, issuance of Petroleum Regulations in accordance with PNDCL 84, and also review and update the country’s petroleum taxation and revenue laws.

“The current stabilisation clauses may also have to be looked at again, since they are too broad, and were incorporated at a time when Ghana did not know its oil and gas potential,” she indicated.

She however noted that the government had already begun the review of the regulatory framework, indicating, “the Ministry of Energy has drafted a local content policy and proposals on various regulations, which are in the process of being referred to the Ministry of Justice for drafting.”

The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice also talked about a new oil and gas revenue bill, which seeks to manage revenue from the oil and gas industry, and ensure transparency, stressing, “the oil and gas tax law has been reviewed and incorporated in the general income tax law.”

Meanwhile, she said there were proposals for the formation of an independent regulator, which, according to her, are being made ready for preparation into a bill, and it is expected that most, if not all, of the proposed review legislation, would be ready by the production date in 2010.

According to her, the amendment expands the responsibility for the regulation of activities in the Petroleum Up and Mid Stream sub-sectors.

The objective of these amendments, she said, was to regulate, oversee and monitor activities in the upstream, midstream and downstream petroleum sector, and support the national policy objectives of the up, mid, and downstream petroleum sector.

Whilst admitting that Ghana had not been given much time to prepare for the transition, the A-G said, “we are determined to make our oil find a blessing, and not a curse, by putting the appropriate legal and regulatory structures in place, to ensure that Ghana gets the most out of its oil and gas reserves, and runs an industry that is transparent and best-practices oriented.”

Available information has it that the PNDC Law 64 established the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, and makes it responsible for the development and production and disposal of oil and gas.

PNDCL 84 provides a framework for the management of oil and gas exploration development and production, and makes it clear that all petroleum existing in its natural state, is the property of Ghana, and also that the exploration, development and production of petroleum, shall be done only in accordance with the terms of a petroleum agreement that is regulated and executed with the Minister of Energy, and the interest acquired cannot be assigned to any other person, without the prior consent in writing of the Minister of Energy.

Mrs. Betty Mould-Iddrisu believes this is essential, because the rights to petroleum products in its natural state is the property of the people of Ghana vested in the government, since the law provides the basic terms of every petroleum agreement.

It also spells out the rights and objectives of the parties, and the sanctions to be applied in case of breaches.

Section 32 of the Act provides for regulations to be made in 24 areas of oil and gas management, unfortunately, since 1982 most of them have not been made.