Source: newsthemegh.com
To guarantee Ghanaians proper control on the asset, the minority in parliament is calling for an immediate transfer of Jubilee Oil Holdings Limited (JOHL) shares to the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC).
According to the Minority, this will significantly increase the likelihood of proper accountability and efficient monitoring of the profits generated by Ghana’s petroleum resources.
The attempt by the Energy Minister and the GNPC Board Chairman to secretly sell 50% of JOHL to PetroSA in South Africa is strange, claims the side, given that it does not serve the interests of the Ghanaian people.
In a statement, Minority Leader Dr. Casiel Ato Forson urged that GNPC provide a thorough explanation of the circumstances, as well as the motivations and assumptions that underlie the events.
He voiced worry over how the assets of JOHL are maintained and managed, claiming that because they were purchased by the Republic of Ghana, they belong to the people of Ghana.
“The Petroleum Revenue Management Act (PRMA), 2011 (Act 815) was passed by the late President John Evans Atta Mills, may he rest in peace, and it provided regulation over how revenue from Ghana’s oil and gas resources is to be managed.”
Revenues from the assets are accrued to or paid out of the Petroleum Holding Fund as required by the Act. That the JOHL assets are not now covered by PRMA provisions or that JOHL income are not transferred to the Petroleum Holding Fund is problematic.
If the JOHL asset is as valuable as reported and income from it is not transferred to the Petroleum Fund, where are the earnings deposited, how are they utilised, and under what governance framework are they managed? Does the Auditor-General have access to the books?
The Minority leader claimed that JOHL revenues are currently used as a slush fund to pursue all kinds of business that has not been authorized by Parliament under the typical GNPC budget approval process. As an example, she cited the recent deposit of $ 100 million in oil revenues into JOHL’s accounts.
He also raised concern about the government’s efforts to use JOHL’s assets to refinance GNPC’s present debts with LITASCO.
One of the main principles of the PRMA is to restrict how much the current administration can “forward sell” its oil and gas assets in order to prevent it from mortgaging Ghana’s future. Such a move would be opaque, add to the debt burden of a nation already in financial crisis and participating in an IMF program, and would even violate the constitution, he said.
When Parliament resumes, the Minority will submit an urgent question requesting an explanation of the entire incident, according to Dr. Ato Forson.
The reported sale of a portion of Ghana’s investment in JOHL has generated a lot of media attention over the past few days, with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) calling for the resignation of the GNPC board chair due to his position.