GNPC told to get a business plan for operations

A member of the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC), Dr Steve Manteaw, has called for a business plan for the state oil management company.

Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) was established in 1983 by PNDC Law 64 to support the government’s objective of providing adequate and reliable supply of petroleum products and reducing the country’s dependence on crude oil imports, through the development of the country’s petroleum resources. Its mandate expanded in 2007 with the discovery of oil and its subsequent exploration three years later.

But there has been wide criticism as regards the corporate social responsibility of the Corporation, precisely with its sponsorship of the Black Stars. Speaking on TV3’s Hot Issues on Saturday, Dr Manteaw noted: “We need to have the national company come out with a business plan, so we can finance that business plan”.

He explained that Malaysia’s national oil company (NOC), Petronas, has a business plan, which gives it competitive advantage over other oil firms in the Asian nation.

Petronas, he cited, does not have to go to Parliament to seek approval on what it has to do. He said if GNPC gets a business plan, its expenditure can be measured and monitored.

Dr Manteaw, who is the Campaign Coordinator for ISODEC, was speaking in relation to public discourse over the use of the country’s Heritage Fund to finance the Free SHS policy of the government.

He said government has no business touching the Fund, which is just a reserve percentage of the oil revenue. “Let’s leave the Heritage Fund alone.

The current generation is being greedy,” he told host Winston Amoah, insisting that the 70 per cent available for spending should rather be used.