Former President John Dramani Mahama has expressed concern that $100 million has been diverted from petroleum funds for unapproved expenditure.
Last week, the Minority in Parliament issued a stern warning to Finance Minister Kenneth Ofori-Atta to repatriate all funds accrued from oil revenue into the Petroleum Holding Fund (PHF).
According to the Minority, the government is violating the Petroleum Revenue Management Act (PRMA) by failing to pay revenues into the Fund.
Money from oil sales at the Jubilee and TEN fields, according to the caucus, is being transferred to an offshore company.
“The current NPP Government’s decision to transfer revenues from approximately 944,164bbls of crude lifting in the Jubilee and TEN fields to a company established in a safe haven (outside Ghana) without Parliamentary approval amounts to a gross violation of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act, 2011 (Act 815) and Public Financial Management Act (Act 921),” the Minority said on Thursday, September 29.
The statement, signed by Ranking Member on the Mines and Energy Committee John Abdulai Jinapor, also claimed that the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) failed to assess and collect Capital Gains Tax on Anadarko’s sale of a 7% interest in the Jubilee and TEN Fields in 2021.
Therefore, the Minority said about $100 million cannot be accounted for.
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“This is undoubtedly another ‘Agyapa’ deal in the works, and we as a Minority will not stand by while this Government raids the national purse, especially at a time when the country is struggling to raise much-needed revenues for critical expenditure.” We demand that the Minister of Finance, and indeed the entire government, immediately repatriate all such illegal transfer payments into the Petroleum Holding Fund (PHF).
“If the Minister of Finance does not comply with our ultimatum, the Minority will use the necessary parliamentary processes to summon him to parliament for possible censure.”
In response, Mr Mahama stated that Section 3 of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act (Act 815) makes it clear that all Petroleum revenue owed to the Republic is due to the Republic.
In response, Mr Mahama stated that Section 3 of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act (Act 815) states explicitly that all Petroleum revenue due the Republic, regardless of source, must be assessed, collected, and accounted for by the Ghana Revenue Authority.
He also cited Section (15) of the Petroleum Exploration and Production Act (Act 919), which states unequivocally that “any borrowing in excess of the cedi equivalent of thirty million United States Dollars for the purpose of exploration, development, and production shall be approved by Parliament and shall be in accordance with the Petroleum Revenue Management Act.”
As a result, Mr Mahama stated that there is no justification for diverting revenues from the nation’s share of petroleum resources into any other account other than the PHF.
“The Minister for Finance must urgently repatriate all such illegal payments back into the PHF as there is no record to confirm parliamentary approval on any such loans acquired by GNPC in their work programme,” he wrote on Facebook on Monday, October 3.
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