The Information and Resource Coordinator of the Parliamentary Centre, a non-governmental organization (NGO), Alhaji Fuseini Adams, has underscored the watchdog roles of Members of Parliament (MPs) and journalists saying this could bring about transparency and accountability in the industry.
   
He said the media could also compel all stakeholders in the oil industry to exhibit a high level of good governance, rule of law and equitable distribution of national resources.
   
Alhaji Adams stated these at Sogakope in the Volta Region at the beginning of a three-day Oil and Gas Training Workshop for 25 MPs from the Finance, Public Accounts, Lands, Forestry and Natural Resources and Mines and Energy Committees.
   
The workshop would among other issues educate the legislators on "The National Context for Petroleum in Ghana;" The Ghanaian Petroleum Sector and its Potentials;" State Participation in Oil and Gas Industry;" "Policy and Legislative Framework and Revenue
Management."
    
Alhaji Adams said the Parliamentary Centre, in collaboration with other stakeholders, would continue to organize capacity building programmes for the MPs and media personnel to enable them to put the government on its toes on the exploration, use and distribution
of the country’s oil.
   
Madam Angela Mugore, Programmes Officer of Revenue Watch Institute, pledged that the Institute would collaborate with the German Technical Cooperation and Parliamentary Centre to work round the clock to ensure that the oil find benefited the entire country, rather than becoming a resource curse on the nation.
   
"We believe that MPs who are to make laws on the resources of the country need to have adequate knowledge on this area so that their legislations will not serve as a big curse like we have experienced in other oil producing countries across the whole world."
   
She said the Institute would also collaborate with international organizations to expose the risks and dangers of oil resources so that Ghana could avoid the past mistakes of those countries.
   
Madam Mugore called on Civil Society Organizations to place government officials on the right pedals to avoid corruption and discrimination in the distribution of oil benefits.
   
Mr Allan George Lassey, Extractive Industry Governance Adviser of German Technical Cooperation, said there was the need to strengthen the capacities of MPS since most of them did not have background knowledge of the industry.
   
He appealed to MPs and the media to make use of the opportunity to become abreast with issues on the oil and gas industry.
   
The workshop was funded by Bill Gates Foundation organised by the Parliamentary Centre in collaboration with Revenue Watch Institute and GTZ.

GNA/DS