The Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) has called on the government to clearly establish the legal basis for transferring petroleum revenues to the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF) under its “Big Push” infrastructure agenda.
According to PIAC, about $434 million has already been transferred to a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) set up by GIIF, with the funds currently lodged at the Bank of Ghana.
Speaking on the matter, PIAC Chairman Richard Ellimah acknowledged that while the transfers have been carried out, there is an urgent need to regularise the process within the country’s legal framework.
He is therefore recommending that GIIF be reinstated under the Petroleum Revenue Management Act (PRMA) to ensure transparency and provide firm legal backing for such transactions. GIIF was removed from the PRMA following earlier amendments to the law.
“We recommend that the government provide a clear legal basis in the PRMA for the transfer of the Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA) intended for the Big Push policy to GIIF.
“When the law was amended, GIIF was taken out of the PRMA, yet we are now being told that funds have been transferred to it.
“So we do not know the legal basis under which these transfers were made. Bringing GIIF back into the law will ensure that any allocation of petroleum revenue to the fund is properly grounded in law,” he said.
