Fortune and fantasy on Africa's oil frontier
Accra. Photo: Christiane Badgley
I’m happy to see that Ghana’s Marine Pollution Bill is finally on the way to becoming law. I am speaking a bit optimistically here — the bill just received its first reading in Parliament a few days ago — but why not? As I’ve written at iwatch news, the pressure has been on the government to get pollution legislation passed since November’s “mystery” oil spill. Mystery in quotation marks because there is still no official word on what actually happened.
Here is a brief article on the Marine Pollution Bill as posted on Ghana Oil Watch:
As parts of efforts to ensure navigational safety and the protection of marine environment, the Government of Ghana has tabled before Parliament the Marine Pollution Bill for consideration and passage. The Bill which was read for the first time in Parliament yesterday is aimed at providing sound regulatory framework to manage the activities involved in the offshore oil and gas development.
It is also expected to address regulations for the prevention of pollution by oil, noxious liquid substances in bulk, harmful substances carried by sea, sewage, garbage and air pollution from ships.
The Bill incorporates the provision of other conventions including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982 (UNCLOS Part XII) dealing with the protection and preservation of the marine environment; 1996 protocol to the convention on the prevention of the marine pollution by dumping waste and other matter and International convention on civil liability for oil pollution, 1992.
Other conventions include the International convention on the establishment of an international fund for compensation for oil pollution damage, 1992 and International convention on oil pollution preparedness, response and co-operation adopted in 1990.
February 10, 2012 (Channeltwo citing ISD (Gilbert Ankrah) as source)
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I’ll post more information on the Marine Pollution Bill shortly.
Christiane Badgley has been producing and editing documentary films for the past twenty years, with much of her work focused on the U.S. criminal justice system and post-colonial African politics and history.
