Oil funded projects in three Northern Regions nonexistent – PIAC

The Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) has revealed that its inspection has revealed that oil funded projects in the three Northern Regions in 2016 are nonexistent.

Chairman of PIAC, Dr Steve Manteaw addressing a news conference in Accra Tuesday said PIAC is compiling what he described as list of ‘Ghost projects’ and will soon call upon the Auditor General for further investigation.

According a 2013 report on the management of Petroleum revenues by PIAC, an amount of GH¢372.07 million out of the GH¢543.78 million of the Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA) representing 68.42 percent was spent on roads and other infrastructure.

Also, according to the report, the remaining GH¢287.20 million representing 35 percent of the ABFA allocation was spent on several infrastructural sectors including energy, education, water, housing, security and health.

Speaking at the Tuesday Press Conference, Dr. Manteaw said: “Six projects were inspected in the Upper East, Upper West and Northern regions [and] the findings and observations were overwhelming with fifty percent of the projects being nonexistent.”

In the Committee’s interaction with indigenes of the regions during “our district engagement in about sixty districts later in 2016, concerns were raised as to whether PIAC verifies projects which have been reported by the Ministry of Finance to have been undertaken with Petroleum revues.”

He said “over fifty percent of school projects inspected showed signs of serious deterioration in less than three years after completion” including a six-unit classroom block Apedwa SDA primary school in the East Akim District of the Eastern region which has begun to sink due to poor siting and shoddy work.