The Academy and the Successful Management of Ghana’s Petroleum Resources

This study advocates new roles, especially for public universities, to ensure socially productive uses of Ghana’s new petroleum resources. It stresses the urgent need for tertiary institutions to be engaged in this industry. Academics cannot sit on the fence or offer what-went-wrong analyses as they did in the past. This study advocates practical, smart public-policy solutions to challenges posed by oil, notably the absence of a well-articulated national vision or plan to train Ghanaians to promote substantial local content and prepare for legal, financial, health, environmental, and safety issues linked to petroleum production. The aim is to nudge academics to take some responsibility and initiative for appropriate petroleum policies, legislation, and practices that will work in and for Ghana to evade the proverbial resource curse, which afflicts most of Africa.