Since I didn’t travel anywhere last week, I thought it may be interesting to recount my typical day in Accra for you. I leave my “house” at 8am and walk 10 minutes to the nearest “bus stop” where I catch a tro-tro heading for “37 Lorry Station.” I always try and snag a seat nearest the window because then I avoid having to get up every time someone alights before me. Usually all the passengers sit in silence but occasionally I see someone reading (this morning a lady next to me was going over some passages from the Bible) and most of the time the radio is blasting the day’s latest debate. Radio here has a much bigger presence than it does back home which makes sense: it’s accessible to everyone (no literacy required and it’s free to listen to). More so than in the newspapers, the radio is the forum for discussion of what the government is up to and what issues are relevant to the community. Recently I heard a debate on whether or not cell phone use should be banned in schools which I found amusing – that is a question that could equally arise in Canada.
Once I arrive at the madness that is 37 Lorry Station (there are tro-tros entering and exiting, people selling everything from hair elastics, to pirated DVDs, to food and watches, preachers preaching over the loudspeaker, etc…) I carefully jet across a 6-lane street (there are barely any traffic lights here so you always have to J-walk which still makes me nervous) and walk to another “bus stop” where I await the tro-tro headed for “Estate IPS”. This week has been rather unusual as far as tro-tro experiences go. Today I saw my third foreigner in my tro since I arrived and twice this week two young women engaged me in conversation which barely EVER happens. One was taking courses to become an accountant and the other was completing an internship hoping to attend law school the following year. It is very common in Ghana to exchange phone numbers so even though we had only spoken for 5 minutes and there was no clear purpose as to why we needed each others numbers, I acquiesced to their request. One custom I have come to notice is that Ghanaians often call just to see if you are ok. It’s really quite sweet. Case in point, last night, Eben, who I met in the tro the day before, phoned me to see how my day was and if I was alright. Nothing more.
I walk in the doors of CEPIL at 9 am and have breakfast with my coworkers. I learned early on that it is customary to say “you are invited” or “minsaka” (in Twi) if you are about to eat. A typical Ghanaian breakfast is tea with bread or bread with porridge (but not the oaty kind – this one has more of a grey soup-like texture). I get some funny stares as I munch down my yogourt topped with muesli and banana slices.
I then set up my laptop in the conference room which I share with Sandrina and two Ghanaian interns from the University of Legon Law School. Three of us are working on the same project: the human rights impact of the soon to-be-exported-for-the-first time oil industry. I am currently focusing on revenue management which I find fascinating. Everyone here desperately wants to avoid a Nigeria-like situation where a few corrupt officials pocket a massive amount of cash while the population reaps little if any benefit from the resource exportation. Ghana has a few obstacles to overcome in this regard:
- Firstly there is already a conflict surrounding who owns the Jubilee oilfields. A Dallas-based company, Kosmos, made the discovery in 2007 but it made the move to sell its share to Exxon Mobil recently. The Ghanaian government is up in arms about that because they insist that as the host government, they should have been offered first bid. (The Ghanaian government currently owns a 23.5% share)
- While they sort that out, there is the whole issue of managing the revenue that will shortly pour in. Ghana’s oil and gas exportation will be relatively short-lived (20-30 years) but seeks to earn the nation a significant 20 billion dollars. The question is how to avoid the resource curse plaguing nations the world over. From what I have read, (particularly in Oil Policy in the Gulf of Guinea, Security & Conflict, Economic Growth, Social Development edited by Rudolf Traub-Merz and Douglas Yates) two views dominate regarding the causes of lack of economic development in resource-rich countries:
o Rentier theory: the state’s mismanagement of resources. When the state can replace tax revenue with oil revenue it is no longer obliged to listen to civil society. i.e. typically taxation = representation. This allows room for the development of autocracies and the robbing of citizens’ leverage to instigate change.
o Dutch disease: foreign currency pouring into an export economy contributes to an increase in consumer demand without an increase in the corresponding supply – the price of the good then goes up, import prices decrease relatively to this crowding out locally-produced goods. This causes more dependency on a booming oil sector and neglects the local manufacturing and agriculture sectors.
Another topic of regular discussion in the media is transparent revenue management. This is at the core of eradicating corruption in resource-rich countries. Ghana is a candidate country of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) which is an agreement in which countries and companies commit to publishing their oil revenue earnings – an independent body then reviews the data. One must be approved by the EITI as a candidate by meeting a strict series of EITI standards. Once a candidate, the country has two years to reach compliancy status by meeting further criteria. Ghana has yet to achieve this, and has been accorded numerous extensions. Weaknesses of this agreement are apparent: it is voluntary, has no time frame, and the company’s payment information is pooled together at the national level so citizens cannot distinguish individual company payment disclosures on a country-by-country basis.
Henry Parham, coordinator of the Publish What You Pay campaign, calls for an international regulatory framework making it mandatory for companies and governments to disclose what they pay and earn respectively. He insists that voluntary disclosure methods are not effective and suggests among other things, that international financial institutions and donor countries should not relinquish aid without ensuring that recipient countries are transparent in their revenue reporting. This should be a condition for the provision of oil-backed loans as well. Host countries should also make it compulsory for any company operating within its borders to disclose their figures and finally, companies that wish to be listed on financial markets should be required to report regularly on the state of their finances. One major snag: there is no point in forcing governments to disclose their revenue if the oil company is not willing to cease production should the host government fail to uphold its commitment to revenue disclosure.
Another thing to keep in mind is that strong legislation is not necessarily the solution. Chad drew up some revolutionary laws when it committed to spending 80% of its oil revenue on social projects. While this law has extraordinary intentions, implementation is another matter altogether.
Also, how far does corporate social responsibility stretch? How much responsibility do oil companies have to support the local community? It’s the government’s role to provide social welfare for its citizens but if it fails to do so, can and should the communities turn to the International Oil Company?
So for those of you wondering what I have been up to – there’s a snipit!
After lunch (usually a salad and some pineapple for me, shocker, I know --- a typical Ghanaian lunch would be Wache which is essentially rice, beans and some type of meat covered in a very spicy sauce) I return to my research and take off at about 5pm. I catch the tro to “37” and walk for 15 minutes on a sidewalk of all things to the gym. Even though I am thrilled to be able to use a sidewalk (very large roads have them) I still have to concentrate very hard on where I am walking. I have a bad habit of texting while I walk in Canada which would be almost deadly here. Bits of concrete lie everywhere and there are many holes exposing the gutters below (and the occasional scurrying rat! Eek). Once I get to the gym, I very much enjoy the eclectic workout led by Ben – it’s a combination of kick-boxing, step, free weights and Abs. The music is great and loud enough that I can sing my lil’ heart out without too many people noticing. Back to ‘37’ I go which I now have to navigate in the dark – organized chaos- and home-bound for dinner which could be a variation of eggs, pasta or corn on the cob depending on my mood and what I have in stock. The evenings I don’t go to the gym I spend frolicking around Accra, whether its trivia night at this bar Champs, salsa lessons at the Coconut Grove Hotel, Jazz concerts, reggae night at Labadi beach or eating out with friends. This weekend we are off to Togo and Benin – our last major trip. It will be cool to speak French again and see where France has left its mark (rumor has it the supermarkets sell amazing chocolate croissants). On va voir…
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Oh and I must mention that I hosted my first dinner party last week! That is a sign of me feeling truly comfortable in my environment. It was definitely my most challenging dinner party so far from every angle. Firstly, deciding on a menu that was feasible ingredient-wise, do-able in my kitchen, and not too foreign for the Ghanaian palate was my first obstacle. I settled on ratatouille with penne, a green salad with homemade honey balsamic vinaigrette and fudge brownies topped with vanilla ice cream for dessert. The guest list was set at 8 and the time for 7:30. As soon as I began cooking, the fuel decided to run out so I had to run back and forth to the kitchen downstairs to check on my sauteing onions and baking brownies. By 7:30 all food was ready, the table was set with mismatched plates and cutlery and all that was left was to await the arrival of my guests. As I have mentioned before, there are no addresses or street names here so I had to ask my friends to meet me at a nearby landmark and I would then lead them to my place. The problem was not all of them found the landmark that easily and they all arrived at different times obliging me to make the trip repeatedly. Panic ensued when the first batch of guests arrived with uninvited friends in tow! Little did I know that the party I planned for 8 would turn into 15 – my other invitees showed up with friends as well! Then the security guard began shouting at me for not informing him that I was having a party (who knew that was in the rule book?) but a few brownies later and he was my best friend again. The pasta was rubbery and cold by the time we began eating at 9:10pm. I didn’t even mind at that point. I had resolved to let the chips fall where they may. All in all it was a wonderful evening, my Ghanaian friends loved the food much to my relief and everyone mingled nicely. The next party will be definitely be a potluck – I am too curious as to what people will bring!
This blog is sponsored in part by Campbell Cohen
