LOCAL CONTENT IN GHANA'S OIL SECTOR: THE TRUTH BEHIND THE US$ 1.1 BILLION CONTRACTS
Ghana's oil and gas industry continues to raise big hopes for ordinary citizens and local businesses . The 2013 Petroleum Local Content Regulations were created to make sure Ghanaians and Indigenous Ghanaian Companies get a real share of the opportunities . These rules define Indigenous Ghanaian Companies as those with at least 51% Ghanaian ownership and strong local management . Springfield CEO, Kevin Okyere (Source: Class FM Online) Recent reports on service contracts worth about US $ 1.3 billion tell an important story . Out of this amount , only US $ 238 million went directly to pure Indigenous Ghanaian Companies . That is roughly 18 to 29 percent depending on how the numbers are measured . The remaining US $ 1.1 billion went mostly to joint ventures between local firms and foreign partners . This split shows the difference between numbers on paper and real impact on the ground . Direct awards to fully Ghanaian companies are mostly in simpler areas such as logistics , catering...