On January 7, 2009, Ghana successfully conducted a peaceful political transition from ex-President John Agyekum Kuffour of the New Patriotic Party, who had been in power since 2000, to President JEA Mills of the National Democratic Congress. The election followed closely contested presidential and parliamentary elections on December 7, 2008, and the subsequent run-off on December 28. After the run-off failed to produce a clear winner, the electoral commission decided to extend voting to an outstanding constituency—Tain in the Brong Ahafo Region. The final results were declared on January 3, giving the opposing National Democratic Congress a slim lead both in the presidential and parliamentary elections. The closeness of the results is being interpreted as a popular demand for cooperation between the two dominant parties. Local and international observers have declared the voting free, fair and peaceful.
These results have several implications for revenue transparency initiatives in Ghana. Commercial quantities of oil were discovered for the first time in Ghana in June 2007. With drilling scheduled to begin in mid-2010, the country has been preparing for an oil boom which could eclipse the country's mining revenues. The government convened a national forum on oil and development in February 2008, and Revenue Watch continues to support consultations between Parliament, civil society and Ghana's Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (GEITI) group.
With an essentially hung parliament, the dominance of the executive will likely be minimized, allowing for consensus building and enhanced oversight of the legislature—especially over the new bills regulating the oil industry. Perhaps the election by the new parliament of the first female speaker in Ghana's parliamentary history is also a sign of changes to come.
The transitional process is currently ongoing, with a new cabinet expected to be in place by January 31, 2009. Most government activity is resuming after the elections, but with a number of substantive ministerial and political appointments still unfilled, many activities have been slowed. Ghana was an early member of the international EITI effort, first launching its program in 2003. While RWI expected a revised EITI validation work-plan and budget to be completed, this step has been postponed. The change of Parliament leadership has also brought in new dynamics, such as the re-composition of the select committee of the legislature. This change may slow RWI's efforts to build legislative capacity for effective extractive sector oversight, but despite these shifts, RWI expects that the new parliament to afford many opportunities for discussion and capacity building.
The new government has yet to comment on the oil policy and petroleum regulation drafted by the past government. It is still not clear weather these will be revised before parliamentary approval. What is certain however is that the Tax Law Professor, now President, who was a Commissioner of Tax, is expected to bring his vast taxation experience and knowledge to bear on the extractive industry to maximize returns for the country. The delay should also provide time for additional debate between civil society groups and the new parliament, and in turn foster informed and more effective oversight.
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