Know how Ghana's oil & gas money is managed

Few among Ghana's educated elite know about the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC), its mandate and functions. The ordinary citizens too know nothing, or little, about the PIAC and its workings. In spite of the inadequate know-ledge, many Ghanaians expect the country's newfound oil and gas to yield benefits for all the citizens through the proper management of the revenues accrued from the production of these petroleum resources.

Yet if there must be transparency, accountability and good governance in the management of Ghana's petroleum resources, then it is important that the citizens are well acquainted with the PIAC and the way it operates. By so doing, the citizens will give the PIAC the needed support for the Committee to execute its duties effectively and efficiently.

Knowledge

Knowledge of the PIAC and its role will empower the citizenry adequately to hold the government and managers of the oil and gas resources accountable. Thus, this will enable Ghana to reap maximum profits from its oil and gas. But there has been a knowledge gap about how the oil and gas is managed responsibly and accountably. This is where 'Managing our Oil and Gas Revenues: How well are we doing? Highlights of PIAC's 2011 Annual and 2012 Semi-Annual Reports' comes in to help inform and educate everybody in a simple way.

The Petroleum Revenue Management Act, 2011(Act 815) sets up the 13-member PIAC with the mandate to monitor and evaluate compliance with Act 815 by the Government and other relevant institutions in the management and use of petroleum revenues; provide a platform for public debate on spending prospects of petroleum revenues in line with development priorities; and provide an independent assessment of the management and use of revenues.

The Act requires the PIAC to publish a semi-annual report and an annual report by the 15th September and 15th March respectively every year. Since it was incepted in September 2011, the PIAC has so far released the 2011 annual report and the 2012 semi-annual report. Published by the Civil Society Platform on Oil and Gas in collaboration with the PIAC, and with the financial support of the World Bank, the 35-page easy-to-read, glossy-cover and sprightly illustrated publication throws more light on the two reports.

The publishing of the two types of reports, according to Section 1of the publication, “is to enable the citizenry to assess information that is politically independent and reliable, in hope that the information received will enhance the demand-side of social accountability.” The publication continues: “To achieve its purpose, PIAC's reports will have to be COM-PREHENSIVE i.e. covering all aspects of the oil and gas value chain; COMPREHENSIBLE i.e. set out in easy language and simple grammar; and ACCESSIBLE i.e. publicly available and at no cost to its target audience.”

Comprehensive

Though comprehensive, the two reports cannot be said to be comprehensible and accessible as they are couched in technical language, and are not readily available and affordable. The publication has come to the rescue. It explicates: “PIAC's first two reports have not been disseminated widely enough to generate the critical debate which will probably lead to the institution of measures that will address weaknesses and fore-stall any abuses in the management and use of oil and gas revenues in Ghana.”

The publication simplifies the reports by demystifying the technical language to make it reader-friendly; placing their findings and recommendations side by side for easy reference; and by facilitating reading with interesting illustrations and well-designed graphics. The last page is adorned with colour passport-sized pictures of members of the PIAC.

Major Issues

Major issues the publication deals with include non-compliance with formulae for establishing the benchmark revenue; over-estimation of the benchmark revenue; accounting for 2011-2012 over-spill of Ghana's share of crude; and improper lodgement of payments meant for the Petroleum Holding Fund.

The others are selection of priority areas for spending; Ghana National Petroleum Corporation's (GNPC) accountability in respect of budgetary allocations; operational management agreement; equipping institutions to fulfill their man-dates; inconsistencies within the law; and non-compliance with institutional obligations.

The rest of the issues are accounting for over-spill of crude stock; total oil receipts; total oil receipts; revenue target; support to GNPC; collateralisation of the Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA) underspending ABFA allocation; investment policy and guidelines for petroleum funds; and non-payment of surface rental fees.

The penultimate section of the publication addresses the shortcomings in the work of the PIAC by examining the roles of Parliament and citizens. The last section deals with actions for advocacy with regard to civil society and the media.

Public Libraries

The publication will be distributed to all the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), public libraries, libraries of tertiary institutions, the media and various organisations represented on the PIAC.

According to the originators of the publication, by reaching many stakeholders and citizens, the publication “will trigger that critical discourse necessary for exacting accountability from public office holders in the petroleum sector.” The publication is recommended to everybody who is interested in the efficient and effective management of monies from Ghana's oil and gas.