PIAC Challenge Citizens To Get Involve In Petroleum Sector Oversight For Equitable Benefits

Ghanaian citizens have been urged to exhibit unwavering dedication and remain vigilant about developments within the petroleum sector. 

According to the Chair of the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC), Emerita Prof. Elizabeth Ardayfio-Schandorf, this call to action aims to safeguard the country’s petroleum revenue and ensure that it fosters equitable economic and social advantages for all Ghanaians.

She emphasized the importance of active engagement and staying abreast of trends to maximize the benefits derived from the nation’s petroleum resources.

Speaking at the launch of the first edition of the Citizens’ Version of the 2022 PIAC Annual reports on the management and use of petroleum revenues, in Accra, she said: “As citizens, we need to commit ourselves to spread information and demonstrate genuine commitment by being involved, we need to consistently follow the trends in the petroleum sector to safeguard our petroleum revenue and ensure that it brings equitable economic and social benefits to all Ghanaians.” 

Dr. Steve Manteaw, co-chair, of GHEITI, called for more content analysis in the citizen’s version of the report.

“My suggestion going forward would be to provide a bit more content analysis -brief ones so that we as citizens can leverage that to begin making the kind of policy and changes we want to see on how we manage the resources.”

Ms. Kathleen Addy, chairperson, NCCE commended PIAC for the effort and described it as a “revolutionary initiative”, encouraging citizens to take up the responsibility to be properly informed and hold duty bearers accountable. 

As part of its reporting mandate, the Committee publishes two statutory reports, each year – Semi-annual and Annual – to inform the public on how petroleum revenues have been managed and utilized in a particular year.

PIAC since its establishment, has produced 24 Statutory reports, 12 semi-annual and 12 annual reports.

Although simplified, the Citizens’ Version is very comprehensive and provides all the information captured in PIAC’s statutory reports, which a lot of people consider to be voluminous and technical, in a very simplified manner using infographics. 

It includes information on petroleum production and sales statistics, petroleum utilization, collection and allocation of petroleum revenues, distribution and utilization of the Annual Budget Funding Amount(ABFA), and findings and recommendations from the 2022 PIAC annual report

The Citizens’ Version is available for download via www.piacghana.org. PIAC encourages the public to access the report and engage in constructive conversations about the management and use of petroleum revenues. 

The report was launched by Prof. Nana S.K.B. Asante, paramount chief of Asante Asokore and former president of GAAS.

Ghana is yet to attract new investments in the oil sector over the past decade, according to PIAC reports, crude oil production has been declining for three consecutive years, at an average decline of 10 percent; in 2019 71,439,585 quantity was produced, 2020 dipped to 66,926,806 at 6.32percent, whiles in 2021, it slipped to 55,050,391 at 17.75percent as opposed to 51,756,481 in 2022 representing 5.98percent. 

The total petroleum revenue of US$ 1.43 billion in 2022 is the highest for a single year since the inception of petroleum production in Ghana.