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The World Bank Country Director to Ghana, Ishak Diwan has blamed the lack of consensus on spending decisions for some of the poor quality spending that took place under the NPP government, and cautioned that if clear principles on how to spend future oil revenues are not established now, and consensus built around them, it is possible that Ghana will miss the opportunity of unleashing the economic potential of oil to fundamentally transform its economy. Mr. Diwan made this observation as part of his opening remarks at this year�s World Bank Development Dialogue Series which ended in Accra last Monday. Reflecting on the NPP era, he noted that 2007/8 was particularly a good year for Ghana; a year characterized by euphoria around the successful floatation of the euro bond, appreciation of the country�s credit rating, and inflow of appreciable financial resources from rising commodity prices, but because not much consensus was built around spending decisions the period was marked by poor quality spending and initiation of projects that were not immediate priorities of the country. Mr. Diwan fell short of naming the particular spending decisions that in the Bank�s estimation were questionable but his statement calls to mind the controversy that heralded the decision to construct a presidential palace, Ghana@50 celebrations and the procurement of aircrafts for Ghana air force. He explained that because oil has a tendency to erode democratic accountability and create economic and social inequalities, it is important that discussions on how to use future oil revenues are seen as key to ensuring that oil benefits all, including those often left on the fringes of society. On the question of state participation in oil and gas sector, Mr. Diwan noted that opinions on this differ. He argued that, while having bigger stake in Jubilee will give Ghana a louder voice, it will also mean that when production begins, the first flow of revenue will go to service loans if Ghana were to borrow to finance the acquisition of extra shares in Jubilee. This he said will deny citizens the opportunity to immediately feel the impact of oil revenue for a while. �Already Ghana has 10% stake in Jubilee; what difference will an extra 10% or so make?� he asked rather rhetorically. These he noted, are issues that must be put on the table and discussed. While opinions on the state�s participation in Jubilee differ, international best practice shows that countries that have been able to maximize their benefits from their natural resource sector as those with substantial equity participation. Countries like Norway, Botswana, Trinidad and Tobago immediately come to mind. The Deputy Minister for Energy, Dr. Kwabena Donkor opened his keynote address to the meeting with an apology for the fact that the development dialogue series were being organized by the World Bank and not the Government of Ghana. In his view such a platform is critical in fostering democratic decision-making. He passionately pledged the government�s commitment to ensuring openness not only in the management of revenues but also in the awards of contracts. He intimated that, government intends to maximize its benefits much more in the gas sector, as this is where allied industries can be encouraged, and where backward and forward linkages to the rest of the economy can be established. Responding to a suggestion that the global credit crunch might make it difficult to raise the needed finance to acquire Kosmos� shares, the deputy minister assured the audience that there is no such problem and that Ghana has more than enough offers to help finance its intended purchase of the share in question, naming Shell as one of those, but falling short of mentioning CNOOP which according to Public Agenda intelligence has been flirting with the government over Kosmos� share for months now. He also assured the audience that Ghana will as much as possible, and in so far as contract terms permit, refine its share of oil produced in Ghana. He conceded however, that capacity constraint might require that the bulk of the country�s share of the oil is exported. In his presentation Hon. Moses Asaga complained about a certain lack of access to contract information, plan of development etc. Opacity, he argued, characterized the way in which the NDC conducted the petroleum policy matters, and this he said has not changed much under the NDC government.