Vice President Prof Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang has called for stronger African participation in the development of the continent’s oil and gas resources, stressing the need for investment that delivers lasting value to African economies.
She made the call when she joined ministers, senior government officials, investors, industry leaders and development partners at the Africa Oil Week Presidential Dinner.
The Vice President said Ghana remained open to serious and long-term investment partnerships that were mutually beneficial, noting that while African economies needed revenues from their natural resources, the greater opportunity was in developing local capacity and ensuring that more of the value generated from those resources remained on the continent.
She said achieving this would require strategic partnerships that combine international expertise and investment with stronger African participation across the energy sector.
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang acknowledged the contributions of ExxonMobil to the industry and encouraged the company to deepen its efforts to develop local capacity in the countries where it operates.
She also stressed the need for the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) to position Ghana to play a greater role in developing the country’s own resources while continuing to attract quality investment.
According to the Vice President, Africa’s ability to shape its energy future would depend on building stronger African companies in strategic sectors and investing in technical and human capacity.
She further called for increased participation by African businesses across the energy value chain, as well as greater use of regional markets to ensure that the continent’s natural resources contribute more significantly to industrialisation and economic transformation.
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang said the focus should therefore extend beyond extracting natural resources to building the industries, expertise and businesses capable of retaining more value within African economies.
She emphasised that stronger partnerships between governments, international investors and African businesses would be critical to achieving a more inclusive and sustainable energy future for the continent.
