Ghana and its New Found Crude Oil : Can Ghana Escape the Resource Curse?

After so many years of fruitless search for crude oil in the Ghana, in 2007 crude oil has been discovered in commercial quantities at the Jubilee offshore oil field. In fact, the offshore field is claimed to be the biggest find in offshore oilfields in West Africa in recent years. With examples on crude oil mismanagement from so many countries and even closer home – Nigeria, the Ghanaian government has avowed that it will not make the same mistakes but rather turn its resources into viable source of economic development for both present and future generation. The question then is how feasible is this objective? What structures does Ghana need put in place to make it a reality? This paper seeks to examine two countries that have been upheld as having escaped from the resource curse, and using their experience, proffer structures that Ghana can implement to escape the resource curse. These countries are Botswana and Norway. A huge chunk of both countries revenue stems from the natural resource they have but they have turned it into a blessing rather than a curse. The paper finds that unless Ghana internalises the lessons learnt from Botswana and Norway, their experiences will only stop short of inspiring Ghana but will not be an effective tool in escaping the resource curse