Don’t utilize Ghana’s Heritage Fund for coronavirus fight – PIAC warns govt

The Public Interest and Accountability Committee(PIAC) has asked government to shelve its plans of amending the Petroleum Revenue Management Act (PRMA) to access the Ghana Heritage Fund (GHF) as part of proposed fiscal measures to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a press statement issued by PIAC rather advised government to review and reduce planned 2020 Annual Budget Funding Amount(ABFA) expenditure, and apply the savings to the COVID-19 Alleviation Programme (CAP).

“Reduce the capital expenditure focusing on roads and infrastructure,” PIAC proposed as an interim measure.

It further added: "As a body whose membership represents a broad spectrum of the Ghanaian society, the Committee’s position articulated in this statement is informed by its mandate under Act 815, to provide independent assessment on the management and use of Ghana’s petroleum revenues; by faithfully adhering to the principles and philosophy that informed the passage of the PRMA in the first place.”

It claimed that there have been previous attempts by successive governments to access the Heritage Fund for various reasons, to which PIAC objected.

“The Committee’s position is consistent with its understanding of the spirit of the PRMA on the management and use of the Ghana Heritage Fund (GHF) – to cater for the inter-generational ownership of the petroleum resource as well as the shared compensation on the adverse effects of petroleum extraction.”