The Minority Caucus in Parliament demanded an immediate restitution of around $100 million that they said the government had taken from the Petroleum Fund.
The Finance Minister, Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta, was allegedly accused by the caucus of ceding shares from the 2021 Occidental (OXY) agreement pertaining to the Jubilee and TEN Fields to an offshore entity called Jubilee Holdings.
John Abdulai Jinapor, the ranking member of the Mines and Energy Committee of Parliament, said the action was taken without parliamentary approval when the Committee on Employment, Social Welfare, and State Enterprises’ report on the audited financial statements of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) for the 2019 and 2020 fiscal years was discussed on the floor of the legislature.
“Mr. Speaker, if you go to page 2, subsidiaries of GNPC…nowhere is Jubilee Holdings mentioned here. The Minority, therefore, demands that the $100 million that has been transferred by the Finance Minister to Jubilee Holdings as captured in the PIAC Report, that money must, with immediate effect, be paid back into the Petroleum Holding Fund as envisaged in the Petroleum Revenue Management Act,” he said.
Mr. Jinapor also alleged that “there is a certain explanation that GNPC borrowed money.”
That, he claimed, was in contravention of “Act 919 of the Petroleum Exploration and Production Act which states categorically in Section 15 and Section 32 that before GNPC could borrow such an amount they need Parliamentary approval, and they don’t have the approval.”
“Mr. Speaker, through our leader, Haruna Iddrisu, we intend to elevate this particular issue to its highest level. We cannot allow the nation’s resources to be dissipated in such a manner,” Mr. Jinapor said.
Corroborating with the Minority’s allegations, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, the Minority Leader, called on the Mines and Energy Committee of Parliament to probe the alleged diversion of the Fund.
“Mr. Speaker, we are requesting the Committee on Mines and Energy and Committee on Employment to probe further because the PIAC Report 2022 recommends that the proceeds of liftings by Jubilee Oil should be paid into the Petroleum Holding Fund as the Committee is convinced that the proceeds form part of Ghana’s petroleum revenue,” he said.
“Significantly, Jubilee Holding is not listed as a subsidiary, so how come they will be holding up to $100 million of state resources?” Mr. Iddrisu asked.