PIAC calls for review of PRMA, sends proposal to Finance Ministry

The Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) says it has initiated proposals for the amendment of some provisions in the Petroleum Revenue Management Act (PRMA), the law that governs the country’s oil revenue usage, by Parliament.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Business24, the Technical Director of PIAC, Mark Agyemang, said the proposal for the amendment is now at the ministerial level.

He said, moving forward, PIAC needs to strengthen its assessment of how successive governments use the petroleum revenue received during their tenure as the country marks 10 years of oil production this year.

According to him, the country has so far realised about US$6.2bn from oil production in the last 10 years.

“In the next 10 years, we want to ensure the holding of US$600m in the heritage fund. So that the next generation who will not meet the oil will not feel disappointed in today’s generation,” he said.

On whether PIAC has been receiving enough funds to carry out its mandate, Mr. Agyemang told Business24 that the committee’s funding has improved since 2015, adding that government in 2018 secured them a permanent office to operate from.

He said Ghana has been transparent in its accountability for oil revenue since the country started production some 10 years ago, a feat he said has not been achieved by many oil-producing countries.

“The knowledge that Parliament will summon you (the finance minister) to come and account alone makes it a good thing for accountability,” Mr. Agyemang said.

The interview, which covered a wide range of questions about oil revenue management and the work of PIAC since its establishment in 2011, included questions about the role of GNPC in helping the country maximise the benefits of its hydrocarbon resources.

Mr. Agyemang stated that PIAC wants Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) listed on the stock exchange (GSE) to cede control and ownership of the national oil company to Ghanaians.

The move, he added, will stop government interference in the affairs of the state-owned GNPC.