The brouhaha surrounding the Government of Ghana's stand to block the estimated $4 billion sale of a 23.5% stake in the huge Jubilee Field, following months of talks between potential buyer Exxon Mobil Corp, and the stake's owner, Kosmos Energy LLC, witnessed a different twist in Parliament yesterday.

Former Attorney-General (A-G) and Member of Parliament (MP) for Sekondi, Papa Owusu-Ankomah, and Minister of Trade & Industry, Hannah Tetteh, engaged in a heated debate as to whether the stand taken by the government of Ghana was justifiable or not, considering the current position of the country.

Papa Owusu-Ankomah, contributing to the debate of the message of President Mills' State of the Nation Address, expressed concern over how the investment world was looking at the Ghana, considering its recent discovery of oil and gas.

According to him, the way and manner in which the government of Ghana was handling things in the oil and gas industry was awful, a situation he said, could further drive potential investors away from investing in the country.

He was particularly worried about the President's pronouncement in his State of the Nation Address that all was well. "Indeed, since this government took over, the cost of doing business in Ghana has become higher. I must say that when the President says everything is well, I feel sad," he noted, to the admiration of the Minority members in Parliament, who cheered him up with the "hear, hear" slogan.

Hon. Owusu-Ankomah read an article dated February 17th, 2010, and published by the Wall Street Journal titled, "Why Africa is poor" to buttress his argument, highlighting on how the government's recent decision on a stake in Jubilee Field was derailing the confidence of investors in the country.

"President Obama headlined his first trip to sub-Saharan Africa last July, with a stop in Ghana. Speaking to Parliament in Accra, Mr. Obama praised the country's growth and its example that "development depends on good governance."

Eight months later, Ghana's government is turning the nation into a cautionary tale for foreign investors.

Exhibit A is the case of Kosmos Energy, a U.S. company based in Texas, which has lately seen capricious government meddling in a deal to sell a $4 billion stake in a Ghanaian oil field to ExxonMobil Corp.

Ghanaian Energy Minister Joe Oteng-Adjei suggested in a letter to Exxon, reviewed by Journal reporter Will Connors, that the government would "support the strategic intent and efforts of [Ghana National Petroleum] to acquire Kosmos's Ghana assets at a fair market value," he quoted the Wall Street Journal as saying.

But, the Minister of Trade & Industry, Madam Hannah Tetteh, listening to the former A-G's submission with rapt attention, quickly got to her feet to bring him to order, since according to her, he (Papa Owusu-Ankomah) was misleading the House.

Her intervention attracted lots of heckling from both sides (Minority and Majority) of the House. Those on the Minority demanded she sit down, whilst those on the Majority side, cheered her on to bring the Papa Owusu-Ankomah to order.

"Sit down, sit down, you don't have anything to say," demanded some members on the Minority side.

"Teach him, he doesn't know what he is saying," responded those on the Majority side.

Calm-looking Hannah Tetteh, in her reaction, said "Madam Speaker, I want to inform some of the members of the Minority on the other side of the House that I was a Member of Parliament before them, and so I can teach them, they don't know enough (sic) to teach me."

According to her, Papa Owusu-Ankomah was misleading the House, since he was quoting from an article "which at the end of the day, is nothing more than a statement of opinion, and therefore cannot be considered as a statement of fact."

According to her, the government had not repudiated any contract which it had entered into with Kosmos Energy.

She said the issue affecting Kosmos was whether or not it was in a position to sell its interest in the manner in which it purported to do, without the consent of the Minister responsible for Energy.

Just as she was about to continue, the Minority resorted to their heckling style with the view to intimidating her, but she was the least perturbed by their actions, and continued to address the Chair (Madam Speaker).

"Madam Speaker, by the rules of the House, I address Madam Speaker when I raise a point of Order, not to the members of the House," she noted in her response. Earlier, Papa Owusu-Ankomah had criticised the government for its decision to venture into iron and steel industry as part of her flagship project, considering the huge amount of money involved.