OIL DISCOVERY IN GHANA, curse or blessing?

My personal opinion is that Ghana will do poorly with this oil. I hope I am wrong. The evidence is that we have done poorly without oil. Some people think that if only they could be given a big boost to start with, then they'll do well. On the contrary, he who is faithful in little is the one likely to do well with a lot. So we will do with oil exactly as we have done with cocoa, gold, electricity and human resources.

Why should it be any different from the story of gold, bauxite or cocoa? Why should Ghana be any different from Nigeria, Zaire or Cameroon? Why would this oil exploration company be any different than Cadbury, Kaiser or Shell? Why would today be any different than 1887, 1927 or 1977?I must hasten to add, though, that I’m not implying that all the "fault' lies with Ghanaians. It involves a combination of local selfishness and incompetence, coupled with a very good dose of foreign (predominantly Western) exploitation, greed and advantage. Joining a cartel like OPEC may reduce the exploitative aspects of western influence but cannot affect local corruption and mismanagement

As the Bible says, to the place where the carcass is, there the birds of prey will gather. At this very moment I am sure in the hotels that overlook the Potomac and the Thames, decent-looking young men are signing contracts that spell out how these profits are to be shared among people who have never been to Accra. And colluding with them will be some young men, natives of the Volta and the Densu Rivers of Ghana, gleefully making calculations about their personal share. 25 years from now, we will lament the types of contracts that were signed and the opportunities that were lost.

As for the local greed and incompetence, the only way out is regeneration. And I do think regeneration starts in the heart, not the mind. Remember in the book of James, the advice given to men of "double mind" is to cleanse their hearts- not their minds. One way of regenerating the hearts of large numbers of people in a short time is by Christian revivals. These are showers of grace from God, and they cannot be forced, although we know that plenty of prayer, fasting and stepped up evangelism will frequently precipitate revivals. - Calorius