WACAM, a Civil Society Organization (CSO) which is dedicated to fighting to protect the rights of residents affected by mining, has distanced itself from a call by other CSOs calling for the head of the board chair of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) Mr Freddy Blay.
The distancing according to management of WACAM, follows a statement in the media indicating that WACAM is part of a group of Civil Society Organizations calling for the removal of not only Mr Blay, who is the board chairman of GNPC, but also the sacking of the Chief Executive Officer of GNPC, Mr Opoku Ahweneeh Danquah.
Among the reasons for the call for the sacking of these two individuals by the CSOs who held a press conference on Tuesday, May 23, 2023 was the claim of their alleged initiation of the selling of 50percent of Ghana’s stake in the Tano Basin Oil fields to PetroSA under a ridiculous arrangement.
But in the estimation of WACAM, the issuing of the statement was under a circumstance which was not clear to them.
In a press statement issued by WACAM to dissociate itself and copied to The Herald, it said beyond listing names of organizations as being part of the statement, there are no signatories to authenticate the signing onto the statement by individuals who represents each organization.
Signed by the Associate Executive Director of WACAM, Mrs. Hannah Owusu- Koranteng and dated May 24, 2023 , the WACAM press release stressed that it cannot therefore vouch for such press statement issued by the supposed Civil Society Organizations.
“It is difficult to ascertain the individuals, or organisations that spearheaded this statement. We want the media, WACAM members, our associates and the public to know that WACAM is not associated with the statement”, the press release pointed out.
“Furthermore, we condemn the unethical methods used. We hope that Wacam’s statement to dissociate itself from the referenced statement clearly indicates our dissatisfaction with the publication”, the statement added.
