According to the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC), approximately GHC 600 million of oil revenues due Ghana cannot be traced.
According to Dr Steve Manteaw, the Chairman of PIAC, this is not the first time such huge amounts in oil revenue are simply disappearing into thin air “We have lots of money in this country that is why GHC650 has gone missing without any uproar,” Dr. Manteaw told Asempa FM’s Ekosiisen programme.
PIAC has tried unsuccessfully to get the Finance Ministry to account for the mysteriously disappearing oil revenue.
“We have already mismanaged about GHC650m of the Oil Revenue. Do we want to mismanage another 500m for future Generations? No way,” he said in reference to attempts by the Finance Minister to justify a move to dip his hands into the Heritage Fund from the oil revenue for what he described as emergency expenditure.
The Finance Minister on Monday requested the Ghanaians Parliament to amend the Petroleum Revenue Management Act (PRMA) “to allow a withdrawal from the Ghana Heritage Fund to undertake emergency expenditures in periods of national emergency.”
“There is an estimated US$591.1 million in the Ghana Heritage Fund,” the Finance Minister justified his request.
The Heritage Fund was created for a purpose to reserve some of the oil revenue for future generation of Ghanaians, but Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta is arguing that it must be spent now in the face of difficulties to raise funds to tackle he deadly Covid-19 coronavirus.
“If we want the easy way out of every difficult situation, then anyone can rule a Country. We have to think outside the box… The Heritage Fund is not a contingency Fund so why call for it to be used today? It is for the future & Generations unborn” Dr. Manteaw fired.
“We are allowed to use 91% of our Oil Revenue today & save 9% for Future Generations. Why have you finished all 91% & now wants to jump into the little 9%. What kind of irresponsibility is that?”