Spend oil proceeds wisely - Government urged

Mr Ishmael Ejekumhene, the Executive Director of the Kumasi Institute of Technology and Environment (KITE), has called on government to stick to regulations governing the spending of oil proceeds as passed by parliament.

He said a strict adherence of the law would help end the situation where millions of petroleum revenue is wasted on projects that can hardly be accounted for.

Mr Ejukum-Hene said this at a stakeholder’s workshop in Accra organized by KITE, in collaboration with the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development and the Africa Centre for Energy Policy, to disseminate the findings of a 3-year study on how Ghana has utilised the proceeds from its petroleum resources.

He said research conducted by KITE has revealed that, many of the projects being funded by the oil proceeds from the year 2010-2016 cannot be located or found in some of the mentioned communities.

Mr Ejukum-Hene said such missing projects are rampant in areas such as school buildings and irrigation projects.

He blamed the missing projects on the lack of monitoring and too much spending.

Mr Ejukum-Hene said the various oil discoveries would one day dry up and there should be something to show up from the oil proceeds.

He called on members of the public to demand accountability from government to ensure that the oil proceeds are invested in the right areas for the benefit of all.

Mr Ejukum-Hene also called for the resourcing of the Public Interest and Accountability Committee to promote transparency and accountability in the management of petroleum revenues.