The Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) has revealed a major challenge that continues to complicate efforts to track how the country’s petroleum revenues are being used.
PIAC says that although many projects receive oil money, they cannot accurately be described as “oil-funded projects.”
The revelation came from Technical Manager at the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC), Mark Agyemang, during a “Time with PIAC” engagement held after the committee conducted inspections of petroleum revenue-supported projects across three regions.
When Oil Money Is Only Part of the Story
PIAC says that, at first glance, a road, school, hospital, warehouse, or other infrastructure project listed under petroleum revenue expenditure may appear to have been funded entirely by Ghana’s oil revenues.
However, Mark Agyemang explained that the reality is often far more complex. Many of these projects are initially financed through other government funding sources such as the Road Fund, the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), internally generated funds, donor resources, or sector-specific financing arrangements.
It is only when these primary funding streams become inadequate or are delayed that petroleum revenues are sometimes brought in to support or complete the projects.
This signals that the primary source of funding for most of these projects is often not petroleum revenue. As a result, determining whether a project should be classified as an oil-funded project becomes increasingly difficult.
Why Proper Labelling Matters
The inability to clearly identify oil-funded projects has implications beyond accounting. Proper labelling allows citizens to directly see the benefits generated from the country’s petroleum resources and strengthens public confidence in the management of oil revenues.
Without clear identification, communities may struggle to connect completed infrastructure projects to the petroleum revenues intended to improve livelihoods and support national development.
It can also make independent verification more difficult for civil society organisations, researchers, journalists, and citizens seeking to track the impact of oil-funded investments.
In a sector where transparency remains a critical issue, clarity about funding sources is essential for building trust.
PIAC’s Push for Greater Visibility
To address the challenge, PIAC has been engaging government institutions on the need for improved project identification and disclosure.
Mark Agyemang revealed that the committee has consistently held discussions with authorities on the importance of sticking to petroleum revenues in the financing of projects.
He cited an example of a warehouse project in Tepa, where petroleum revenues were used to complete construction works and where efforts have been made to indicate the contribution of oil revenues.
Such measures, PIAC believes, can help bridge the information gap between government expenditure reports and public understanding.
“We’ve been in talks with the government that from start to finish, petroleum revenues must be used so we can even label. For instance, in Tepa, there is a warehouse where we use petroleum revenue to complete a warehouse where we label it,” he noted.
The Bottomline
The challenge highlighted by PIAC underscores a broader issue in public finance management that transparency is not only about spending money but also about clearly communicating how that money is spent.
As Ghana continues to rely on petroleum revenues to support infrastructure and development projects, ensuring that citizens can easily identify and track the impact of those resources will remain a critical component of accountability.
