GHANA’S OIL RESERVES. Time to get in!

If you can't beat them, join them! Many people are pessimistic about the effect of the recent reported massive oil discoveries in Ghana. The reasoning is that if we are not benefiting much as a people from the mining of other natural resources like gold, how can we expect any different with oil? Many point to the example in neighboring Nigeria.

But you can't sit by and do nothing. There is one way to guarantee you also get a piece of the national oil cake. Ghanaians living in London should buy shares in Tullow Oil . It is on the London Stock exchange the current price is hovering around 9 Pounds Sterling or $18. You have nothing to lose. Oil prices are predicted to rise to 200 dollars a barrel in the next two years. If the shares fall, well you lost some money. If they keep rising and you did not follow my advice, you will be very angry with yourself. The oil is coming from our country and the profits will end up with the investors (and probably with a few corrupt officials). Get in now! You can see how the Oil company bosses are smiling in this photo. You could be smiling too.


The Ghanaian Government should itself be thinking of buying a major stake in the Oil Companies that are going to be doing the drilling in Ghana; that is proper stake holding. But who is listening to me….eh?
- gbetor@kpetoe.

AIRLINE INDUSTRY TROUBLES

How the GIA and others can survive.


In the past 10 days ATA Airlines, Skybus, Aloha Airgroup and now Frontier Airlines have all filed for bankruptcy. These are not airlines that were mismanaged and turned into private tro-tros like our good Ghana Airways. Even if the Ghana government had continued to susidize Ghana Airways, there is no doubt that it would have collapsed by now.

So how come Ghana International Airlines (GIA) is still flying even after their part in the Barbados Chartar fiasco? The key is to look at the routes. The most lucrative routes in the airline industry are in Africa. Airfares from Europe and the USA to Africa have been at cut throat prices since 1973 and travelling Africans have in some way subsidized the cheap travel Westerners enjoy. Even though Wall Street does not acknowledge this, Delta Airlines was rescued from bankruptcy after they started on the lucrative New York- ACCRA route, now four times a week.

If GIA get their act together, they will be still be flying long after Alitalia, American Airlines, SouthWest, etc., file for bankruptcy. After the demise of the old Ghana Airways and until Delta Airlines came on the New York- West African route, it was monopolized by a small airline called North American Airlines (NAA) and this monopoly kept them in the business. Many Ghanaian travellers complained bitterly about the kind of service they provided, but we learnt to grin and bear it because there was no alternative.

Once Delta Airlines arrived and started out with a far more superior service and at similar prices, we defected en masse and it was not long before NAA realized they were flying empty planes to Accra. As fuel prices went out of control it became a loss making trip for the airline and about six weeks ago, NAA threw in the towel and reportedly are now going to concentrate on operating Charter flights.

That should serve as a warning to Delta Airlines to treat their West African passengers with the same level of customer service they provide everywhere. It is only a matter of time before other major airlines like American, Continental, North West and even newer companies like Jet Blue Airways get wind of the West African cash cow. Recent developments, particularly the discovery of oil in Ghana, will result in increased air travel between Ghana and the USA. When that happens, customer loyalty will become very important and now is the time to court and establish it.- gbetor@kpetoe