38% Of Ghana's Oil Money Spent On National Budget Since 2010

The Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) is a body established under Section 51 of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act, 2011 (Act 815) to ensure transparency in the generation and use of petroleum revenues.

The Committee is mandated under Section 52 of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act (PRMA) to: • Monitor and evaluate compliance with the Act by Government and other relevant institutions in the management and use of the petroleum revenues and investments • Provide space and platform for the public to debate whether spending prospects and management and use of revenues conform to development priorities as provided under Section 21(3); and • Provide independent assessments on the management and use of petroleum revenues to assist Parliament and the Executive in the oversight and performance of related functions respectively.

To that end, PIAC findings and/or recommendations are advisory tools for the Government of Ghana regarding prudent management of our petroleum revenue in the context of transparency and accountability. Out of the 8 Point Recommendations AND 31 Findings by PIAC in their 2019 semi-annual report, I will share with you five (5) of the recommendation and focus on 1 Findings ;

1. The Committee recommends the review of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation Act, 1983 (PNDCL 64) to better define the mandate of GNPC and further, by virtue of the fact that, by the enactment of Act 919, certain functions performed by GNPC in the past, such as serving as a data repository and providing technical advice to the Minister have now been assigned to the Petroleum Commission.
2. PIAC reiterates its call for GNGC to discontinue the practice of retaining gas revenues. Receipts from the sale of gas must be applied to defray the cost of raw gas supplied by GNPC, for lodgement in the PHF in accordance with Sections 2 & 3 of the PRMA, and in line with sound business practice.
3. To forestall the recurring wrongful lodgements and differences in reported payments by IOCs, the Committee recommends to BoG and GRA to institutionalise quarterly meetings to share and reconcile petroleum receipts.
4. To improve on returns on the GPF’s investments, the Committee recommends a review and diversification of their qualifying instruments.
5. Given the existence of an excess of US$155.53 million over the GSF cap of US$300 million, the Committee recommends the transfer of the excess into the Sinking and /or Contingency Funds in accordance with Section 23(4) of the PRMA, or a re-adjustment of the cap to accommodate the excess

FINDINGS: Total petroleum funds distributed since inception in 2010 till end of June 2019 is US$5.32 billion of which 38 percent went to the ABFA, 31 percent to GNPC, 22 percent to the GSF, and 9 percent to the GHF.

The Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA) constitutes the main channel through which petroleum revenues are used to support the budget. The PRMA calls for....

Continue here: https://justiceoffeijr.wordpress.com/2019/12/09/38-of-ghanas-total-oil-money-spent-on-national-budget-since-2010/