Civil Society Groups Demand Overhaul of NPA over Lack of Transparency in Petroleum Fund Management
Two prominent civil society organisations, the Centre for Environmental Management and Sustainable Energy (CEMSE) and the Revenue Mobilisation Alliance (RMA), are calling for far-reaching reforms at the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), raising red flags over what they describe as a troubling lack of transparency and accountability in the management of key petroleum sector funds.
In a strongly worded joint statement released on Monday, the Executive Directors of CEMSE and RMA, Benjamin Nsiah and Geoffrey Kabutey Ocansey respectively, accused the NPA of presiding over persistent inefficiencies, financial opacity, and the misapplication of public resources due to its dual role as both a regulator and fund manager.
The groups are urging the Ministry of Energy to take decisive steps to separate the NPA’s fund management functions from its regulatory mandate. They propose that all fund oversight responsibilities be transferred to the Ministry of Finance to ensure proper governance and reduce conflict of interest.
They further called for an independent and comprehensive audit of the NPA’s fund management activities between 2021 and 2024, with particular focus on an unexplained deficit recorded by the Authority in 2022.
Unaccounted Surpluses and Questionable Fund Management
The joint statement pointed to three major petroleum funds managed by the NPA—the Unified Petroleum Price Fund (UPPF), the Primary Distribution Margin (PDM), and the Cylinder Recirculation Margin (CRM)—which the organisations say have been generating significant surplus revenues without adequate public disclosure or oversight.
Unified Petroleum Price Fund (UPPF):
Funded by a 90 pesewa per litre levy on petrol and diesel, the UPPF is estimated to generate more than GHS 4 billion annually. Yet, only 40% of these funds reportedly go to transport operators, with the remaining 60% retained by the NPA.
Despite this, the NPA declared a surplus of just GHS 524 million in 2023—a figure CEMSE and RMA argue severely understates actual revenues. According to them, the Authority has not publicly accounted for surpluses since 2015.
Primary Distribution Margin (PDM):
The PDM is said to yield over GHS 1.3 billion per annum, though Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company Limited (BOST) handles just 7% of fuel distribution. The remaining 70% of the fund—amounting to roughly GHS 900 million—is treated as surplus, with no clear disclosure on its utilisation. The groups also cited instances of deductions from tanker operators being misapplied.
Cylinder Recirculation Margin (CRM):
Introduced in April 2024, the CRM imposes an $80 per metric tonne fee on LPG, and has raised over $30 million (approximately GHS 315 million) by June 2025. However, less than 1% of LPG sales have been channeled through the cylinder recirculation model. The groups claim that only $37,000 of the total revenue has been used for supporting cylinder manufacturing and bottling—leaving more than $9.9 million unaccounted for.
Demand for Legislative Reform
CEMSE and RMA are calling for urgent legislative action to strip the NPA of its fund management responsibilities, arguing that the current arrangement breeds a structural conflict of interest and weakens public confidence.
“Transparency and accountability in the management of these funds is not just a legal obligation but a moral imperative,” the statement read. “Allowing continued opacity in petroleum fund revenues undermines good governance and the effective allocation of public resources.”
The groups also questioned how the NPA could record a deficit in 2022 despite the equalisation framework under the UPPF, which, they argued, guarantees that revenues exceed expenses. They have called for this anomaly to be thoroughly investigated by an independent auditor.
As the petroleum downstream sector continues to play a crucial role in Ghana’s fiscal landscape, the calls by CEMSE and RMA are likely to reignite broader discussions about institutional accountability and reform within the country’s energy governance framework.
