A Coalition of Christian Churches on Tuesday described as an inhibition to transparency, the attempt by a joint select Parliamentary Committee on Energy, Mines and Finance to amend some provisions in the Petroleum Revenue Management Bill 2010.
The Coalition, made up of the Christian Council of Ghana (CCG) and the Ghana Pentecostal Council (GPC), is calling on the Parliamentary Committee not to amend clauses 58 and 60 as proposed in the Bill which among others things, calls for the establishment of a Public Interest and Accountability Committee and the publication of records of petroleum receipts for the purpose of transparency.
Reading a statement on behalf of the Coalition in Accra, Apostle Samuel Yaw Antwi, General Secretary of the GPC said "we believe that these clauses are the embodiment of transparency within the bill and it will promote public trust within the revenue management system.
"Members of parliament in their consideration of the bill must be reminded of their sacred oath, their civic duty, the interest of the people and most of all the experiences of other countries that have failed to turn their natural resources into lasting benefits for their people."
Speaking on the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Bill 2010, Apostle Antwi said the bill did not provide open and competitive bidding process for oil blocks and disclosure of petroleum contracts.
"In addition, the bill gives too much power to the Minister of Energy to regulate petroleum operations which in our view compromise the independence of the Petroleum Regulatory Authority which will be established to regulate the petroleum industry."
Apostle Antwi said "Parliament will do this country a great disservice if the bill is passed into law without considering these important provisions. We accordingly invite all Members of Parliament to uphold the principles of transparency, freedom and justice which are the foundations on which our country was built."
He said the Coalition was also calling on parliament to make strong provisions for preventing oil spills, gas flaring and other environmental hazards in the Petroleum Bill.
"We call for a clause in the petroleum bill for the declaration of 'no exploration zones' covering high breeding areas, forest reserves and heritage sites," he added.
Reverend Dr. Fred Deegbe, General Secretary of CCG, said the Coalition was committed towards making meaningful inputs towards the forward march to sustainable exploration and prudent and transparent use of the country's petroleum resources.
He noted that charlatans, including false pastors, exploited some unsuspecting members of the public and church due to economic hardships.
Rev Dr Deegbe said miscreants resorted to cheating and false promises when economic misfortunes experienced by a country's citizenry increased.
He was reacting to a question as to why the Christian Coalition had abandoned many worrying issues in the religious domain but had concentrated on a financial issue such as the oil and gas industry.