District Assembly Common Fund Admin, Irene Naa Torshie Addo (L) with President Nana Akufo-Addo
The Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) has published its semi-annual report for 2021 in which it said an amount of GH¢129.26 million, representing 5 per cent of the budgeted ABFA, was allocated to the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF), following the decision of the Supreme Court of Ghana in the case of Kpodo and Another versus Attorney General.
“Notwithstanding the allocation, there was no disbursement to the DACF in the first half of the year”, PIAC said in a statement.
The report also said: “Instead of withdrawing from the Ghana Stabilisation Fund (GSF), the government utilised an amount of GH¢40.17 million from the Treasury Main Account to shore-up the ABFA in the first quarter”.
Read the full statement below:
STATEMENT BY THE PUBLIC INTEREST AND ACCOUNTABILITY COMMITTEE (PIAC) ON THE PUBLICATION OF THE 2021 SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT
The Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) has published the Semi-Annual Report on the management and use of petroleum revenues for the first half of 2021 on its website www.piacghana.org.
This is in fulfilment of Section 56 of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act (PRMA), 2011 (Act 815).
Since its establishment in September 2011, PIAC has exercised its oversight responsibility of monitoring and evaluating the management of Ghana’s petroleum resources by the government and stakeholder institutions.
In compliance with provisions of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act (PRMA), 2011, the Committee prepares statutory Semi-Annual and Annual Reports, which aim at keeping Ghanaians and other interested stakeholders regularly informed about the management and utilisation of the country’s petroleum revenues. Since its establishment in 2011, the Committee has published a total of 20 Reports – 10 Semi-Annual and 10 Annual.
The 2021 PIAC Semi-Annual Report is being published three weeks after the statutory date of 15th September, which is earlier than in the past.
This was achieved as a result of the continuous collaboration between PIAC and its stakeholders, especially on the timely exchange of information.
The 2021 PIAC Semi-Annual Report covers the period January to June and encompasses a broad range of issues associated with petroleum revenue management such as information on production, liftings, total revenues accrued and allocated by Government, ABFA utilisation, and the management of the Ghana Petroleum Funds (Ghana Stabilisation Fund (GSF) and the Ghana Heritage Fund (GHF)). It also examines other issues pertinent to the performance of various institutions charged with responsibilities in the PRMA.
The Committee notes with commendation the provision of ABFA utilisation data by the Ministry of Finance for this Report, which has not been the trend in recent years.
Public Interest and Accountability Committee
KEY FINDINGS/OBSERVATIONS
The following are some of the key findings/observations of the Report:
An amount of GH¢129.26 million, representing five (5) per cent of the budgeted ABFA, was allocated to the DACF, following the decision of the Supreme Court of Ghana in the case of Kpodo and Another versus Attorney-General.
Notwithstanding the allocation, there was no disbursement to the DACF in the first half of the year.
Instead of withdrawing from the Ghana Stabilisation Fund (GSF), the Government utilised an amount of GH¢40.17 million from the Treasury Main Account to shore up the ABFA in the first quarter.
The Earmarked Funds Capping Realignment Act, 2017, which discontinued allocations to GIIF for infrastructural development has been amended to restore petroleum revenue funding to GIIF.
RECOMMENDATIONS
PIAC reiterates its recommendation in previous reports that the Minister for Finance should grow the GSF to better position it to serve its purpose of shoring up ABFA expenditure when there are revenue shortfalls in the Budget.
PIAC recommends to the Ministry of Finance that, there is the need for the Supreme Court decision on funding of the DACF with petroleum revenues to find expression in the PRMA, which is being reviewed, with the necessary provisions as is the case with the ABFA and GIIF. This will enhance direct implementation and monitoring of ABFA-funded projects at the subnational level.
It is the expectation of the Committee that the public will find time to read the Report and provide feedback during PIAC public engagements and also reach out to the Secretariat via its various contacts, including social media channels.
The Committee also urges the media to obtain a copy of the 2021 PIAC Semi-Annual Report from its website for further analyses of the issues raised.