Parliament cuts 2019 GNPC budget by $ 80 million | Economic news



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Parliament has cut the Ghana National Oil Corporation's (GNPC) expenditure budget for 2019 by $ 80 million, said Adam Mutawakilu, a member of the Energy Select Committee.

The Energy Select Committee member who disclosed this information stated that some of the projects included in the 2019 GNPC budget were not justified.

The committee also questioned the $ 50 million that the Corporation is requesting to use for the construction of a refinery, as part of the government's plans to establish an oil center in the country.

The Ghana National Petroleum Corporation plans to spend about 43 million Cedis on various projects as part of its corporate social responsibility in 2019.

Some of the projects include drilling and scholarships for members of the communities in which the company operates.

Although this amount represents 8% of the company's total budget of about $ 800 million for 2019, industry observers say the $ 43 million spent on CSR is rather high, compared to to the $ 20 million the company plans to spend on its core Volta Basin Development activities.

In 2018, the company spent $ 28 million on CSR, more than $ 25 million spent on salaries and $ 17 million on some operational activities.

"The GNPC must prove beyond reasonable doubt what the funds are going to be used for. We scrutinized each project. And from there, the committee will visit the field to check and ask all relevant questions, "Mutawakilu said at a roundtable on the management of oil funds organized by the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS).

But in a strong reaction, the GNPC refuted the badertion of excessive spending.

Dr. Kwame Baah Nuakoh, general manager of sustainable development at GNPC, also said that these projects were long-term investments.

"We invest in the community in which we operate. We are developing their capacity to prepare them for the market so that they can take up key jobs in the oil sector over the next 15 years. "

In the meantime, the Forum's organizers, the Institute of Fiscal Studies, are asking Parliament to cap the GNPC budget for CSR.

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