Visit by prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago : An opportunity to learn from rich oil and gas experience
The Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr Keith Christopher Rowley is currently in Ghana for a four-day visit at the invitation of President John Dramani Mahama. The visit is aimed at strengthening relations between the two countries.
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Dr Rowley has been in office since September 2015. He has led the People's National Movement (PNM) of Trinidad and Tobago since May 2010 and was Leader of the opposition from 2010 until he was elected Prime Minister. He is a volcanologist who obtained his doctorate in geology with speciality in geochemistry.
Trinidad and Tobago is a twin-island Caribbean nation with distinctive creole traditions and cuisines. Trinidad hosts the renowned carnival featuring calypso and soca music. The smaller island of Tobago is known for its beaches, ecotourism and the Tobago Main Ridge Forest Reserve.
While in the country, Dr Rowley and his 12-member delegation will, among other engagements, hold discussions with President Mahama, meet with some Ghanaian businessmen and lay a wreath on the tomb of Malcolm Ivan Meredith Nurse, better known by his pseudonym, George Padmore, a Trinidadian Pan-Africanist Journalist who was a close ally of Ghana’s founder father, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah.
Political ties
Ghana- Trinidad and Tobago relations date as far back as post- colonial period. The countries are both former British colonies. History has it that the chair on which the Speaker of Parliament for Trinidad and Tobago sits to conduct business of the house was donated by Dr Kwame Nkrumah on behalf of the people of Ghana as a gift on their attainment of independence in 1962.
In 2008, the then President, George Maxwell Richards, paid a five-day state visit to Ghana to help reinforce the friendly ties between his country and Ghana. During the visit, he indicated that Ghana’s independence in 1957 provided them with deep inspiration. He expressed commitment towards greater co-operation for the mutual benefit of their people.
Cultural ties
At the Fort Saint George in Scarborough, Tobago, where a register of slaves and slave trading activities in the 17th and 18th Century is kept, there are names such as Kwame, Kofi, Kwesi, Attah, Kojo, Quarshie and many other Ghanaian and African names. Traditional folklore and storytelling in Ghana known as “Ananse Stories” told to children by elders, usually in a courtyard around the fire place, is also practised under the same circumstances in Trinidad and Tobago and known as “nancy story”.
The daily co-operative collection made towards a micro-finance saving scheme in Ghana today known as susu is also known in Trinidad and Tobago as susu and is believed to have started as a scheme by freed slaves hoping to make enough money to travel back to Africa. Traditional religious practices of ancestral worship, pouring of libation etc. are similar to practices in Ghana.
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Just as Ghana is known for its unique Kente designs and highlife music, Trinidad and Tobago is the home to the steel pan, the only percussion instrument to have been created within the last 100 years. Its carnivals cannot go without mention.
Economic ties
Undoubtedly, Dr Rowley’s visit is in furtherance of the commitment expressed by President Richards when he visited Ghana in 2008. Prior to Dr Rowley’s visit, the Republic Bank Limited, the leading Trinidad and Tobago banking institution, had taken over HFC Bank, Ghana.
The takeover offers Trinidad and Tobago an opportunity to invest in other sectors of the Ghanaian economy. In the oil and gas sector, Trinidad and Tobago has offered to partner Ghana to add value to its gas resources. Some of Trinidad and Tobago’s companies that have expressed interest in the energy and other sectors are Trinidad and Tobago National Gas Company, Phoenix Park Gas Processors and Point Lisas Industrial Estate.
As it is, the presence of the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr Rowley, can be used by President Mahama to assure prospective investors of the safety of their investments in Ghana.
This is because available information indicates that Trinidad and Tobago is the third richest country by GDP (PPP) per capita in the Americas after the United States and Canada. Furthermore, it is recognised as a high income economy by the World Bank. The country's economy is primarily industrial, with an emphasis on petroleum and petrochemicals. Trinidad and Tobago’s wealth is attributable to its large reserves and exploitation of oil and natural gas. Trinidad and Tobago is the leading Caribbean producer of oil and gas.
Ghana, on the other hand, is at the verge of taking full advantage of its oil deposits. The legal framework has been established and various contracts have been signed by numerous foreign oil exploration companies. However, there are indications, as espoused by some experts that Ghana is not getting the best possible deal from the investors in the oil and gas sector.
It is, therefore, imperative that President Mahama takes full advantage of the Prime Minister’s visit by engaging his Trinidadian and Tobago counterpart in a heart to heart discussion that would let him in on how the South American Island country managed to benefit so much from its oil resources.
Without going into too much detail, a hint of what the government of Trinidad and Tobago is using the proceeds from the oil and gas revenue to do for its citizens would suffice. Delivering a speech during their 39th Republic Day celebrations, the Honorary Consul of Trinidad and Tobago, Hilton John Mitchell, said that education was free from pre-school to university. Every child entering secondary school at the age of 11 is given a laptop for free. Every child from primary to secondary school is given free breakfast and lunch. Public transport is free for every student, as well as every pensioner 65 years and above. Each pensioner is given the equivalent of $550, approximately GH¢2000, every month.
This gives an indication that rather than being a curse, the oil and gas resources have turned out as a blessing to our Caribbean brothers and sisters. How then can we learn from their experience, Rowley’s visit should provide the answer.
Therefore, as we accord Dr Rowley and his delegation the proverbial Ghanaian hospitality, we must ask them the necessary questions and strike the needed deals that would be to the benefit of the peoples of our two countries. Akwaaba Dr Rowley.