Freddie Blay, Board Chairman, GNPC
The Board Chairman of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) Mr Freddie Blay has extolled the Chief Executive Officer of the corporation, Dr KK Sarpong for his stellar work done.
Mr Freddie Blay said Dr KK Sarpong has been leading the GNPC at a time there are many challenges in the petroleum sector.
Dr. K. K Sarpong, has also come under severe criticism from CSOs over the GNPC-Aker deal.
For example, Executive Secretary of the African Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) Mr Ben Boakye said while speaking on the Key Points on TV3/3FM with host Dzifa Bampoh on Saturday, August 28, that “We also see another diversionary act of Dr KK Sarpong trying to rather tout to his credential to win public support for this transaction.
“He was talking about his role at COCOBOD and how he helped syndicate loans, I am not sure we are going to celebrate that as a civil society. If he wants to draw our attention to his public life, we are happy to engage him on that. But we have deliberately stayed on this conversation to ensure that we are dealing with the specifics and the subject matter.
“That smear campaign we will not engage in, I am not sure civil society will want to celebrate turning COCOBOD into a debt procurement institution for several decades. Recently, I was in the US to learn about how Cocoa is processed in a museum, they had cocoa grown in a room to show people ow cocoa thrives. That is the legacy you will want to leave and not becoming a debt procurement enterprise. I am surprised that he leaves out other roles in public life being in TOR. We had to get into all of those things.
“As much as possible we want to stay on this conversation and if he wants to stay there we ill dissect the issues , we will bring to perspectives what the problems are with this particular transaction, we can even zoom deeper into his role in this GNPC and pick on many issues.”
But in a meeting with Energy Miister Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh on Tuesday August 31, Mr Freddie Blay said “You [Energy Minister] did charge us to look at onshore exploration and indeed we have done a little seismic exploration.
“All what I will say looking around to see what we have min the Voltain basin but you entreated us to go on the more.
“I think we are going to take it seriously if in the past we have not done that.
“You have brought a new dimension to it. Not only do we go by the law that created us but go by your policy of government to ensure that it will benefit all.
“The hardworking CEO is also leading this corporation to face the challenges of the development of renewable energy shift , greening of the globe as against fossil fuel as a resource in this country , how to combine it and exploit it and benefit from this natural resource that God has given us . I think we have a very serious responsibility.”