PIAC funding must be protected by law – Isaac Adongo

Parliament’s Finance Committee has called for a clear legal framework to guarantee sustainable funding for the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) and protect its operations from changes in government policy.

Speaking at PIAC’s 15th anniversary event on August 19, 2026, a member of Parliament’s Finance Committee, Isaac Adongo, commended the committee for promoting transparency and accountability in the management of Ghana’s petroleum revenues over the past 15 years.

He said PIAC’s work had helped prevent the misuse of petroleum revenues and strengthened public financial management. He noted that the committee had consistently demanded answers when petroleum funds were not properly accounted for.

“We acknowledge the fact that but for your work, a lot of things would have gone wrong over the years,” he said.

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However, he expressed concern about PIAC’s funding following reforms affecting the Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA), which has been an important source of financing for the committee’s operations.

Mr Adongo said relying on the goodwill of government officials to finance PIAC was risky and called for its funding to be clearly protected by law.

“There must be a clear definition of what the law says should be provided for your business,” he stated.

“Now, to talk about the fact that you don’t even have a law that mandates the government to fund you, it’s a very big risky venture. And we need to start that conversation now,” he added.

He also raised concerns about how much of Ghana’s petroleum revenue is being spent on current development needs rather than being saved for future generations.

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He contrasted Ghana’s approach with countries such as Norway, which have built substantial sovereign wealth funds from natural resource revenues.

He therefore called for a national conversation on strengthening the country’s savings for future generations, particularly the Ghana Heritage Fund, warning against decisions that could weaken the fund.

DR/MA

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