PIAC Warns Diversion of Oil Revenues Into ‘Big Push’ Project Hurting Sectoral Allocations
The Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) has cautioned that the government’s decision to channel a greater share of petroleum revenues into the “Big Push” infrastructure programme is adversely affecting budgetary allocations to key oil and gas sector agencies.
The government, through the Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA), has decided to finance projects under the $10 billion “Big Push Infrastructure Programme,” which seeks to enhance national connectivity and accelerate economic development.
However, the Vice Chairman of PIAC, Odeefuo Amoakwa Boadu VIII, has warned that while the initiative is commendable, it poses risks to the sustainability of the petroleum sector as the country continues to record declines in crude oil production.
“Although the initiative is laudable, the situation is likely to affect investments in the sector as the country continues to experience declines in petroleum production,” he noted.
Speaking at a media engagement on the Committee’s 2025 Semi-Annual Report, Odeefuo Amoakwa Boadu VIII called for broader stakeholder consultations to review the decision in order to ensure that agencies operating in the sector continue to receive their fair share of oil proceeds.
For instance, allocations to the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) for operations and institutional capacity development were reduced from 30 percent to 15 percent of net Carried and Participating Interest during the first half of 2025.
In addition, PIAC itself experienced a decline in its revenue inflows following amendments to the petroleum revenue management framework.
“With the coming into force of the Petroleum Revenue Management (Amendment) Act, 2025 (Act 1138), PIAC’s budget is no longer to be charged to the ABFA,” he disclosed.
“The amount of GH₵4.6 million approved for 2025 PIAC programmes and activities represents only 21.43 percent of its budget for the year, and 41.07 percent of approved funds for 2024,” he added.
The Vice Chairman further revealed that the government’s new funding structure under the “Big Push” has effectively redirected almost all ABFA contributions toward infrastructure financing.
“There is a new government with a project aiming at big infrastructure across the country and hence decided to take funds from the ABFA — about 100 percent contribution from the ABFA — so it has taken away PIAC itself. It’s only 5 percent of ABFA that was disbursed to the District Assemblies Common Fund,” he explained.
According to PIAC, the significant budget cut has hampered its ability to carry out its statutory oversight and monitoring responsibilities effectively.
The 2025 Semi-Annual Report, covering the period January to June 2025, reviews petroleum revenue management performance, including data on crude oil production, liftings, total revenue accrued to the State, allocations and utilization of the ABFA, and the management of the Ghana Petroleum Funds—namely, the Ghana Stabilization Fund and the Ghana Heritage Fund.
