File photo of Ghana’s FPSO Nkrumah oil vessel
There are calls to review the PRMA
Government spending for oil and gas resources is astronomical
PIAC cautions against excessive use of oil money for numerous projects
Dr. Samuel Antwi, a vice dean at the University of Professional Studies has called for a review of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act (PRMA).
According to him, this is necessary to regulate government’s expenditure of funds generated from Ghana’s oil sale regime.
In an interaction with Citi Business News, the UPSA Dean explained that the current PRMA gives too much room for government to spend oil revenues.
“The petroleum revenue act gives a lot of room for the government to spend the oil revenue monies. In fact, we have been a little bit worried about the way the government has spent the money…US$6.9 billion is enough to put our country on a very high level in terms of development,” Dr. Antwi is quoted by Citi Business News.
Dr Samuel Antwi believes the current legislation concerning the PRMA is not living up to the required task hence a review is desperately needed.
To ensure that the management and use of Ghana’s petroleum revenues were beneficial to citizens, the Petroleum Revenue Management Act was introduced to provide a regulatory framework. The Act is in accordance with Article 36 of the Constitution.
Meanwhile, the Public Interest and Accountability Committee has cautioned Ghana may likely miss major benefits from its oil and gas resources should the current regime of spreading insignificant oil money across numerous projects continue.
PIAC, which was established in 2011, is an independent statutory body mandated to promote transparency and accountability in the management of petroleum revenues in Ghana.