The Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) has cautioned that the decision by government to direct more oil revenues into the “Big Push” infrastructure project is affecting budgetary allocations to oil and gas agencies in the country.
The government has decided to use funds from the Annual Budgetary Fund Amount, (ABFA) to finance projects under Big Push projects. The Big Push ‘Big Push Infrastructure Programme’, is a $10 billion initiative aimed at significantly improving national connectivity and economic development.
The Vice Chairman of PIAC, Odeefuo Amoakwa Boadu, VIII explained that although the initiative is laudable, the situation is likely to affect investments in the sector as the country continues to experience declines in petroleum production.
Speaking at a media engagement on the 2025 semi-annual report, the Public Interest and Accountability, Odeefuo Amoakwa Boadu, VIII made a case for more consultations to reverse the situation to enable agencies in the sector benefit from oil proceeds.
For the first half of the year, petroleum revenue allocated for operations and institutional capacity development of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, GNPC for example reduced from 30 percent to 15 percent of net Carried and Participating Interest.
The first half of the year 2025 saw a decline in revenues to the Public Interest and Accountability Committee because it has been taken off the ABFA.
“With the coming into force of the Petroleum Revenue Management (Amendment) Act, 2025 (Act 1138), PIAC’s budget is no longer to be charged to the ABFA. The amount of GH₵4.6 million approved for 2025 PIAC programmes and activities represent 21.43 percent of its budget for the year, and 41.07 percent of approved funds for the Committee for 2024”, Odeefuo Amoakwa Boadu, VIII said.
“There is a new government with a project aiming at big infrastructure across the country and hence decided to take funds from the ABFA, about 100 percent contribution from the ABFA so it has taken away PIAC itself. It’s only 5 percent of ABFA that was disbursed to the District Assemblies Common Fund”, he added.
He observed that the significant budget cut has severely limited PIAC’s ability to effectively fulfil its statutory mandates.
The 2025 Semi-Annual Report, which covers the period January to June 2025, examines various aspects of petroleum revenue management. These include data on production, lifting’s, total revenue accrued to the State, allocations, utilization of the Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA), and the management of the Ghana Petroleum Funds – namely, the Ghana Stabilization.
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