Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) ’s expenditure on various line items, mainly administrative expenditure and its capital projects, witnessed significant increases by more than 200 percent in 2022, the country’s Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) has reported.
The company is spending largely on projects that are not in its remit and which are better covered by the finances of the central government, PIAC declares in its 2022 annual report.
GNPC’s continued funding of the construction of roads in the Western Corridor Enclave “constitutes quasi-fiscal expenditure, and should be the primary responsibility of central government and not the National Oil Company”, PIAC recommends in the report. “The total expenditure by GNPC on these roads since 2014 is $124.66 Million”, the report states.
“Given that petroleum revenues recorded a historic high in 2022, the PIAC recommends that GNPC should manage its expenditure and build buffers against volatilities in petroleum revenue inflows in the future”.
PIAC reiterates its call on “GNPC to focus on its core mandate and for the government to desist from borrowing or requesting GNPC to make advances and guarantees on behalf of government and its agencies”.
