"The fact of the matter is that the natural resources of Ghana are not being used then developed in way that links up with the wider economy. So you've got these gaps right across the economy. Ghana is still dependent on bringing in refined petroleum products from outside the country. It does have an oil refinery, but that refinery has been mismanaged and is constantly in debt and has been underperforming. Often they can't afford to buy the crude oil they need to refine, although Ghana itself is producing its own oil. Now the plans for the next five to 10 years are to address those issues and build another refinery and in the president's state of the nation address he spoke about bringing in new investors for the existing refinery at Tema. So I think we are going to see some changes on that but, as you say, the average person asks, why am I paying so much for petrol when we are now an oil-producing country? And of course, when you put up the price of petrol and diesel in Ghana, everything else gets more expensive because you have to move it around the country. I don't think the government really explained that too well and I think people are going to be frustrated. They see Ghana as a country that wins a lot of praise around the world, that is one of the biggest gold producers in Africa, it's the second biggest producer of cocoa in the world and now it's got oil and gas. They think with all those resources they should be living in a very rich country and they want to know what's happened to the money." Patrick Smith is the Editor of Africa Confidential in London
Do read to full interview via: http://allafrica.com/stories/201402260580.html?page=2
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