By Yange Ikyaa in Cape Town
The Secretary General of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Haitham Al Ghais, has said that Africa remains a fertile ground for investment and that OPEC stands ready to help the continent achieve energy sufficiency.
Valuechain quoted the OPEC Boss as saying this on Wednesday, October 19 during the OPEC-Africa Roundtable Dialogue at the sidelines of the African Energy Week, which is taking place in Cape Town, South Africa.
He also explained that Africa has not just oil and gas, but even an abundance of other natural resources and the business potential on the continent is massive.
On top of this, Al Ghais further underscored the presence of a young population in Africa, which is thirsty for jobs, a better future and has huge aspirations to develop and become like the rest of the world. He also wondered why the continent will remain poor and without access to basic needs.
His words: “Why should the people in Africa have less than somebody who is in Kuwait? Kuwait has oil, Nigeria has oil, Congo has oil, South Sudan has oil, Niger has oil. Everybody wants to have wealth, electricity, clean cooking fuel; so it is time that Africa moved to the next level.
“And, with this gathering of intellectuals, executives, and decision makers, this is the right path to follow in attracting the requisite investments.”
Commenting on the question of justice and fairness among members of the oil cartel, Al Ghais declared that OPEC members have an equal voice at the table, decisions are made unanimously, and that nobody dictates or coerces anybody into anything.
According to him, Africa is important to OPEC, which is the reason why the smallest producer today in terms of barrels is Equatorial Guinea, but the smallest producer in OPEC is going to be the President of OPEC next year.
“And I am very clear about this. We take our decisions based on technical parameters, we do not do politics. This is the way we work and that has been the key success factor for OPEC for about 62 years.
“And, next year, Equatorial Guinea will produce the next President of OPEC, and the following year, Gabon will produce the next President of OPEC in 2024,” the OPEC Scribe concluded.