129.26 million yen from ABFA allocated to district assembly common fund has yet to be disbursed – PIAC report

An amount of 129.26 million euros, representing 5% of the budgeted amount of annual budget funding (ABFA), allocated to the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF), following a directive of the Supreme Court, n ‘has not been disbursed, the latest findings of the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) 2021 semi-annual report has been revealed.

The findings also found the government guilty of using 40.17 million yen from the main treasury account to support ABFA in the first quarter, instead of pulling out of the Ghana Stabilization Fund (GSF).

“An amount of 129.26 million euros, representing 5% of the budgeted ABFA, has been allocated to the DACF, following the decision of the Supreme Court of Ghana in the Kpodo case and another against the prosecutor general. Notwithstanding the allocation, there was no disbursement in favor of the DACF during the first half of the year, ”he explained.

The report also observed that the Restricted Fund Realignment Act of 2017, which ended allocations to GIIF for infrastructure development, was amended to restore oil revenue funding to GIIF.

PIAC therefore reiterated its recommendation in previous reports that the Minister of Finance should increase the Ghana Stabilization Fund to better position it to meet its goal of supporting ABFA spending in the event of a revenue shortfall in the sector. budget.

In addition, he recommended to the Ministry of Finance that there is a need for the Supreme Court’s decision on financing the DACF with oil revenues to find expression in the Oil Revenue Management Act, which is under review. , with the necessary arrangements as the case with ABFA and GIIF, adding that “this will improve the direct implementation and monitoring of ABFA funded projects at the subnational level”.

“The committee expects the public to find time to read the report and provide comments during PIAC’s public engagements and also to contact the Secretariat through its various contacts, including social media channels,” he said. he stressed.

Since its inception in September 2011, PIAC has exercised its responsibility for monitoring, monitoring and evaluating the management of Ghana’s petroleum resources by government and stakeholder institutions.

In accordance with the provisions of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act (PRMA), 2011, the Committee prepares semi-annual and annual statutory reports, which aim to keep Ghanaians and other stakeholders regularly informed of the management and use of the country’s oil revenues.

The Committee also published a total of 20 reports – 10 semi-annual and 10 annual.

The PIAC 2021 semi-annual report is released three weeks after the September 15 statutory date, which is earlier than in the past. This goal has been achieved through the continued collaboration between PIAC and its stakeholders, especially with regard to the timely exchange of information.

The PIAC 2021 semi-annual report covers the period from January to June and encompasses a wide range of issues associated with the management of oil revenues, such as information on production, removals, total revenues accumulated and allocated by the government, l use of ABFA and management of Ghana. Petroleum funds (Ghana Stabilization Fund (GSF) and Ghana Heritage Fund (GHF)).