Ghana’s experience in implementing local content policies was highlighted on Thursday (8) on the second day of the 11th Mozambique Mining and Energy Conference and Exhibition (MMEC 2025), dedicated to sharing international perspectives on legal reforms and good practices in natural resource management.
Representing the Ghana Petroleum Commission, Priscilla Boasiako, Director for Technology Transfer and Strategy, presented the model that enabled Ghana to increase the effective participation of national companies in the oil industry.
According to Boasiako, the turning point came after the discovery of oil in 2007, when the Ghanaian government recognized that less than 6% of the industry’s goods and services were supplied by local companies.
“We realized that multinational companies were avoiding hiring locally on the grounds that the country lacked technical capacity. We wanted to change that narrative with a local content law, but without practical mechanisms, implementation would be limited,” she said.
She explained that Ghana opted for a pragmatic approach, focused on collaboration with operators and large service providers. One of the structural measures was the unbundling of complex contracts, traditionally concentrated in large international contractors, making them accessible to small and medium-sized local companies.
“We started dividing large contracts into smaller packages, with technical support from the operators themselves. This allowed Ghanaian companies with less financial capacity to compete and execute specific parts of the projects,” she explained.
In addition to contractual unbundling, Ghana introduced mandatory local partnership clauses. Each contract requires the presence of a Ghanaian company as a reference partner, with at least a 10% shareholding. At the same time, minimum requirements are set for training, employment, technology transfer, and the procurement of goods and services on the domestic market.
“It is not just a matter of contracting, but of ensuring that the activity leaves real value in the country. We require, for example, that each contract include concrete plans for local training, research, and development,” she added.
The representative acknowledged, however, that the process has faced challenges, namely rent-seeking practices by some local companies, which, instead of building capacity, have limited themselves to charging commissions without generating value. She also mentioned resistance from foreign companies regarding intellectual property and technology transfer, but stressed that ongoing collaboration with them has allowed for gradual progress.
Boasiako also argued that the focus of policies should be on retaining economic value within the country, rather than on the simple percentage of company ownership: “Having a company with 100% national capital means nothing if it imports everything from abroad. We have already seen foreign companies, through joint ventures, manufacturing in the country, employing Ghanaians, and creating real local value chains. The key is to know where the value lies.”
Concluding her speech, the Ghana Petroleum executive called on Mozambique to adopt a practical and results-oriented approach with clear targets, well-designed incentives, and direct involvement of implementing agents such as operators and service companies.
The panel featured international experts who shared examples of successful legal reforms in other African countries, highlighting cases where robust legal frameworks have resulted in measurable economic and social benefits for populations.
The event is attended by government representatives, business leaders, academics, regulators, and international development partners. Topics under discussion include attracting financing for energy infrastructure, local mineral value addition, the role of energy in agriculture and tourism, and the construction of cross-border industrial corridors.
