Group petitions President over plans to use heritage fund

A Tamale-based Civil Society Organisation calling itself the Public Interest Advocacy Group has petitioned President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo over reported plans by government to use the heritage fund in financing the free Senior High School (SHS) education which begins in September this year.

In their petition, the group said the decision if it turns out to be true is not a laudable one especially when the fund was specifically set to safeguard the future of Ghana and her unborn citizens.

“The Heritage fund is a strategic endowment reserve established to support the development for future generations when Ghana’s petroleum reserves have been depleted; this in line the dictates of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act of 2011. The fund is credited with Nine Percent (9%) of Ghana’s Annual Petroleum Revenue.

The Act on Petroleum Revenue Management also provides that 21% of the annual oil revenues should be drifted into a Stabilisation Fund which will be used to support the economy in difficult times whilst the remaining 70% of it will be used to support Ghana’s Budget financially”

Read the Full Text of their Petition Below

FUNDING FREE-SHS WITH HERITAGE FUND NOT LAUDABLE

We have read with profound unhappiness, the news that quoted your Senior Minister in the person of Hon. Yaw OsafoMarfo that, your government/administration intends to fund your Free Senior High School (Free-SHS) campaign pledge which has invariably become one of your cardinal policies with the Heritage Fund of Ghana’s Republic.

As a Civil Society Organisation interested in the best interest of the Ghanaian citizenry, we wish to add our voice to the loud voices of other non-governmental organisations who have variously and variedly condemned any move to use the fund intended to safeguard the future of Ghana and her unborn citizens to fund the Free-SHS policy which has other available sources of funding.

The Heritage fund is a strategic endowment reserve established to support the development for future generations when Ghana’s petroleum reserves have been depleted; this in line the dictates of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act of 2011. The fund is credited with Nine Percent (9%) of Ghana’s Annual Petroleum Revenue.

The Act on Petroleum Revenue Management also provides that 21% of the annual oil revenues should be drifted into a Stabilisation Fund which will be used to support the economy in difficult times whilst the remaining 70% of it will be used to support Ghana’s Budget financially.

We have not lost sight of the fact that, funding education in the fashion you promised Ghanaians is bad but the option of funding as announced by the Hon. Senior Minister is worrying and constitutes an intended abuse of this fund that has specific laws regulating its use.

It is not too late to consider other options of funding the free-SHS policy which have the propensity of economic prudence.

Our collective lazy approaches to solving issues in this dear nation of ours has already put generations unborn in some expectant difficult situations and so let us not do anything to worsen the situation of our future generations.

Most of our natural resources are suffering constant depletion due to our inability to do their replacement using environmentally friendly methods……Our Unborn Generations Do Not Deserve This Attitude!

We will not hesitate to applaud government when other sources of funding are used to fund her Free-SHS policy aside from the Heritage Fund.

Your cooperation on this matter will be much appreciated.

Thank you, Mr. President!

Most Sincerely,

Abdul-Rahaman