VOA标准英语2009年-Ghana Prepares for Oil Boom

Ghana's coming oil boom brings with it questions of financial transparency and environmental protection. The government has just now put in place a regulatory structure to account for what could be $1 billion in annual revenue by the start of next year.
　
President-elect John Atta-Mills addresses party supporters shortly after being declared winner of the runoff presidential election in Accra (File)

Expectations are high in Ghana with the election of a new president and the production potential of the nation's first major offshore¹ oil field.

The so-called "Jubilee²" field has proven reserves of more than 600 million barrels of oil. Along with natural gas, the International Monetary³ Fund predicts that the field alone could earn Ghana as much as $20 billion by the year 2030.

But making sure the new government spends that new money wisely means significant changes to ensure the transparent⁴ development of the oil industry, according to a new report from the aid agency Oxfam America and Ghana's Integrated Social Development Center.

"Oil booms raise a great deal of public expectation about the amount of money that will be spent, about the number of jobs that will be created, and too often governments and oil companies often feed these expectations about how this new 'black gold' will change everything on the ground," said Ian Gary, the senior policy advisor⁵ for extractive industries at Oxfam America.

One of the biggest expectations is President John Atta-Mills' promise to improve education in Ghana. But in his first State of the Nation address, the president said overspending by the previous government has left Ghana broke, with rising inflation and a fiscal⁶ deficit⁷ close to 15 percent of gross domestic product.

President Atta-Mills' National Democratic Congress government hopes to use oil revenue to help meet United Nations development goals in a country where almost 80 percent of the people live on less than two dollars a day.

Gary says past experience with African oil booms shows that the transparent management of oil funds not only improves public spending but gives the public greater confidence that their money is being handled properly.

"One of the challenges for Ghana will be not only to spend that money but to spend it wisely," he said. "And in many countries, you see high levels of spending but very poor quality of spending. You see the establishment of patronage⁸ systems where oil money is given to political elites⁹ or people with politically-connected businesses rather than being directed and targeted to real poverty-reduction efforts."

Abdulai Dramani, the environmental program officer for the Accra-based research and advocacy group Third World Network-Africa, says Ghanaians are over emphasizing the potential contribution of the oil sector¹⁰ without properly preparing for its affect on people who make a living near the offshore field.

"There are a number of fundamental issues there so for example we still have the problem of the fisher folks in the area where the oil exploitation is taking place. Second the whole idea of transparency," said Dramani.

Dramani says Ghanaians do not know how much the government has collected in contract signing bonuses or how that money will be used. He says there must be proper mechanisms¹¹ in place to minimize corruption¹² and mismanagement in the young oil sector.

"We haven't gotten there yet. We've just come out with the draft bill for the petroleum¹³ authority. The second aspect has to do with the actual practice, which relates to human behavior and the abuse of political power and all that," continued Dramani. "It might not necessarily be an issue of corruption but it will be an issue where the system simply legalizes the flight of capital from the Ghanaian economy."

Since the discovery in the "Jubilee" field, more than 40 companies have applied¹⁴ for licenses¹⁵ to explore for oil. Oxfam America's Ian Gary says the Atta-Mills government can best control the pace of oil industry development by placing a moratorium¹⁶ on new licenses until Ghana's legal framework catches up.

"They need to be able to put in place the right regulations and institutions before a great increase in the oil industry rather than after," said Gary. "Too many places we've seen oil undermining democracy and democratic institutions rather than supporting it."

Oil booms do not guarantee balanced development. While Africa last year produced more than 12 percent of the world's oil, Gary says those revenues have yet to translate into tangible¹⁷ benefits for Africa's poor with resource-rich countries generally showing lower growth rates than African nations with fewer resources.

1 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

2 jubilee   

n.周年纪念；欢乐

参考例句：

• They had a big jubilee to celebrate the victory.他们举行盛大的周年纪念活动以祝贺胜利。
• Every Jubilee,to take the opposite case,has served a function.反过来说，历次君主巡幸，都曾起到某种作用。

3 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

4 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

5 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

6 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

7 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

8 patronage   

n.赞助，支援，援助；光顾，捧场

参考例句：

• Though it was not yet noon,there was considerable patronage.虽然时间未到中午，店中已有许多顾客惠顾。
• I am sorry to say that my patronage ends with this.很抱歉，我的赞助只能到此为止。

9 elites   

精华( elite的名词复数 )； 精锐； 上层集团； （统称）掌权人物

参考例句：

• The elites are by their nature a factor contributing to underdevelopment. 这些上层人物天生是助长欠发达的因素。
• Elites always detest gifted and nimble outsiders. 社会名流对天赋聪明、多才多艺的局外人一向嫌恶。

10 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

11 mechanisms   

n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

13 petroleum   

n.原油，石油

参考例句：

• The Government of Iran advanced the price of petroleum last week.上星期伊朗政府提高了石油价格。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

14 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

15 licenses   

n.执照( license的名词复数 )v.批准，许可，颁发执照( license的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Drivers have ten days' grace to renew their licenses. 驾驶员更换执照有10天的宽限期。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Jewish firms couldn't get import or export licenses or raw materials. 犹太人的企业得不到进出口许可证或原料。 来自辞典例句

16 moratorium   

n.(行动、活动的)暂停(期)，延期偿付

参考例句：

• The government has called for a moratorium on weapons testing.政府已要求暂停武器试验。
• We recommended a moratorium on two particular kinds of experiments.我们建议暂禁两种特殊的实验。

17 tangible   

adj.有形的，可触摸的，确凿的，实际的

参考例句：

• The policy has not yet brought any tangible benefits.这项政策还没有带来任何实质性的好处。
• There is no tangible proof.没有确凿的证据。