Accra, Nov. 14, - Mr Ken Ofori
Atta, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, has been called upon to
include a reconciliation report on the management of petroleum revenue in the
2018 Budget to be presented to Parliament on Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2017.
This requires that the Minister
indicates to the House the stage of execution of all oil funded project, an
action, which successive finance ministers have been faulted for not doing for
seven years running against the provisions of the Petroleum Revenue Management
Act (Amended) 893, 2015.
Despite the violation of the law,
the Legislation has not yet taken any action.
In particular, Section 48(1) of
the Act requires the Finance Minister to submit to Parliament a reconciliation
report on the management of petroleum revenues every year.
Dr Steve Manteaw, a member of the
Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC), has said the situation
raises serious concerns about value for money on cost of ongoing projects
across the country.
Presenting a paper on: “Enhancing
Social and Environmental Performance on Oil and Gas,” on Tuesday at the
Speaker’s Breakfast Forum in Accra, Dr Manteaw said Parliament’s oversight and
monitoring role on the management of the nation’s petroleum revenue has not
been effective, which raises serious concerns on how her revenues are utilised.
Dr Manteaw said: “Since we
started producing oil in this country, past and present finance ministers have
not complied with that provision and giving us updates on the stage of
completion regarding oil projects.
“A project conducted by PIAC
revealed that a lot of the projects are non-existent. Those that are in
existence are deteriorating barely after a year of completion, raising serious
concerns about quality and value for money,”
He called for issues of
institutional inconsistencies that deal with the formulation of policies and
legal framework to regulate activities in the oil and gas sector to be
addressed.
Parliament in collaboration with
the Ghana Oil and Gas for Inclusive Growth held the forum on the theme
“Challenges in the Gold Mining Sector and the lesson for the Oil and Gas
Industry; Implications for Policy in Ghana.”
The forum, a feature of the
activities of the House, which for some few years took a hiatus, was to provide
an opportunity for Civil Society Organisations to engage Parliament on key
policy regulatory issues.
It is also to engage on key
community concerns regarding the Extractive Industry and to provide information
on key sector issues, particularly on mining and oil and gas exploration.
GNA
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