Ghana gets $540m from petroleum revenue fund in 6 months – PIAC

Latest report from the Public Interest Accountability Committee’s (PIAC) 2023 semi-annual report has shown that Ghana made a total $540 million in revenue from January to June 2023.

According to PIAC, under the Annual Budget Funding Amount for 2023-2025, over $466 million out of $540 million of the petroleum revenues were allocated to priority areas including agriculture, roads , critical infrastructure development as well as physical infrastructure and service delivery in education and health.

The report also showed that over ¢247 million was allocated to agriculture including fisheries representing 12.24 percent

Physical infrastructure and Service in education and Health as well as industrialization had ₵35 million and ¢2 million respectively representing 1.79% 0.12%”.

The report furthered that, an amount of¢131,005,360.91 representing 6.47% of the Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA) was transferred to the District Assembly Common Fund in the first half of the year 2023.

The report stated that the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF) plans to invest $380 million in the Tema Motorway and the Pwalugu multi-purpose dam over the period, 2023 to 2025.

Out of this, an amount of $41.25 million was  disbursed to GIIF for the SPV Viability Gap/Tema Motorway Extension Project in H1 2023.

It also stated that, the retention of the current cap of $100 million on the GSF for the year 2023 is not in accordance with the formula stipulated in L.I 2381 and does not help build the Fund to serve its purpose.

PIAC maintained that a proper application of the capping formula would have returned an amount of $765.76 million.

It observed that Kosmos Energy Ghana Limited wrongfully paid withholding tax into the Petroleum Holding Fund in 2020 and 2021, totaling  3,999,325.65 million dollars

Chairman of PIAC, Professor Kwame Adom Frimpong urged the Finance Ministry to comply with the provisions of section 16(4) of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act to release funds to the national oil company not later from three workings days after the receipts of petroleum revenues into the PHF

The ministry of finance should comply with act from Parliament to release funds within the stipulated time to support national oil company”, he said.