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INVESTMENT borrowing has been with us since we discov- Oil paid GMD70mn ($1.31mn) in taxes in Feb-
ered oil. And so for me, the oil gave us a kind ruary alone. The company is one of The Gambia’s
Israel’s Marom Energy buys of confidence for which when we issue bonds, largest taxpayers, as well as one of the country’s
the investor will have that kind of trust, that kind top five organisations with respect to compliance
30% of Morocco’s Gaia of assurance in our environment to give money, with tax collection laws, he stated.
He was speaking earlier in March while Dr.
and that is even one of the reasons why we’ve
Israel’s Marom Energy has signed an agreement accumulated debt to this level.” Kunio Mikuriya, secretary-general of the World
with Morocco’s Gaia Energy to buy 30% of its He was speaking after Nasir Alfa Moham- Customs Organisation (WCO), was paying a
shares as it expands its investments in renew- med, vice chairman of the Public Interest and visit to The Gambia.
able energy, according to a statement by Israeli Accountability Committee (PIAC), a body man- Mikuriya made an impromptu stop at Jah
Ambassador David Govrin. dated to monitor revenue earned from Ghana- Oil’s main offices in Bafuloto during his visit to
The agreement will enable Gaia to invest ian oil production, said on the same programme review the company’s operations and view the
MAD13bn ($1.2bn) in renewable energy pro- that the country had collected only $6.5bn in oil Jah Group’s cement factory. Jah Oil specialises in
jects. As part of the deal, Marom subsidiary earnings over the past 10 years, even though its petroleum product sales and operates a chain of
Gandyr will support Gaia’s projects in various crude production earned a total of about $31bn. 16 filling stations.
green energy sectors. Banks will finance 75% of bna/IntelliNews, March 13 2022 bna/IntelliNews, March 10 2022
the potential projects.
Gaia specializes in developing wind projects
in Morocco and expanded its operations in PERFORMANCE POLICY
Africa throughout 2012-2013.
Morocco aims to have 52% of its energy from Libya’s NOC to increase Suez Canal Authority to
renewable sources by 2030 (20% using solar
energy, 20% wind, and 12% hydro). gas production to meet EU discontinue 15% discount
In February, Morocco and Israel signed a
trade and economic co-operation agreement to needs, says head offered to LNG carriers
facilitate investments between the two countries.
bna/IntelliNews, March 10 2022 Libya’s state-run National Oil Corp. (NOC) Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority (SCA) has
has said it will increase its gas output to meet announced that it will discontinue the 15% dis-
Economist says oil finds expanding demand for gas in the European mar- count offered to LNG carriers crossing the canal,
kets, said the company’s head Mustafa Sanalla. effective March 15.
allowed Ghana to borrow The geographically proximate Libya has been a SCA is taking this step in light of geopolitical
potential solution to the European gas crisis, but developments – chiefly, the decision of European
more money without the war-torn country remains plagued by chaos countries to reduce their reliance on Russian nat-
and insecurity.
ural gas by switching to alternative sources. This
helping economy strategy that focuses on gas production and is a conduit for Qatari and Australian LNG ship-
The move comes in line with NOC’s new plays out to Egypt’s advantage, as the Suez Canal
With respect to Ghana’s position on world finan- increasing Libya’s gas output. However, Lib- ments heading north to markets in Europe.
cial markets, the 2007 discovery of oil in the ya’s Minister of Oil and Gas Mohammed Oun As the shortest maritime route between
offshore zone has given the country more oppor- said the ability of Libya to make up for planned Europe and Asia, the Suez Canal is a vital water-
tunity to borrow without greatly impacting the reductions in Russian gas exports to Europe is way for international trade. It is also a reliable
economy, according to economist and professor very limited, and the NOC needs a minimum of source of foreign exchange revenues for the
Lord Mensah. five years to gain the capacity to meet European Egyptian economy. The canal generated $5.9bn
Speaking on PM Express Business Edition gas needs. for Egypt in the fiscal year 2020/2021, up from
on Friday (March 11), Mensah said that offshore Libya does not have liquefaction plants or a $5.8bn in the previous fiscal year, which ended
oil finds had helped attract investors and boost solid infrastructure to increase gas production to in June.
confidence in Ghana without doing much for the Europe or compensate for reduced Russian gas SCA authorities estimate that the waterway’s
economy. supplies there. income in the current fiscal year, which will end
“We had our trajectory for revenue genera- bna/IntelliNews, March 14 2022 next June, may top $7bn.
tion. The oil came to serve as an add-on, and the bna/IntelliNews, March 15 2022
question is what impact has it made,” he said. “I The Gambia Revenue
believe that if you relate the oil find to our bor- Slovenia plans to import
rowing trajectory, clearly, the oil just came to give Authority reports on Jah
us more space in borrowing.” He continued: “We gas from African countries
discovered oil 2007, [and] quickly, we went to Oil’s tax payments
the Eurobond market to borrow. We borrowed to reduce dependence on
from the Eurobond market, which had its own Yankuba Darboe, commissioner-general of The
responsibility, but then it came to the time that Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA), has reported Russian gas
we were supposed to service these funds ... and that Jah Oil, a subsidiary of the Jah Group, is cur-
we had to go and issue a new bond to offset the rently paying more than GMD65mn ($1.22mn) Slovenia Infrastructure Minister Jernej Vrtovec
old bond.” per month in taxes. said that the country plans to import natural
These developments led Ghana to accumu- According to a report published by The Point gas from African countries, like Algeria and
late debt, Mensah explained. “So that chain of on Wednesday (March 9), Darboe noted that Jah Morocco, via Italy to reduce its dependence on

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