The energy think tank ACEP has suggested the possibility of filing a legal suit against the Government of Ghana and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) by Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) or a civilian concerning the domiciliation of assets belonging to Jubilee Oil Holdings Limited (JOHL), registered in the Cayman Islands.
The Executive Director of the think tank deems this legal action necessary, emphasizing that the government should promptly repatriate JOHL assets from the tax haven to Ghana. He also highlights that the GNPC, managing the JOHL assets, should be subject to the Petroleum Revenue Management Act (PRMA).
“It has been almost 2 years after advocating for the assets of JOHL to be domiciled in Ghana and nothing has still been done by GNPC and Government, clearly there is no commitment on the part of GNPC or Government to be transparent with JOHL assets.”
“Someone or CSOs must therefore challenge this illegality in court to ensure that JOHL assets are returned to Ghana.”
The ACEP boss made this known when he gave his submission during a Space on the X platform on November 12 on the topic “Is JOHL Under Political Capture? – Analyzing Implications of Securitizing JOHL assets for $420m LITASCO Loan”.
Ben Boakye also charged that the GNPC and the government were breaking the Petroleum Reserve Management Act (PRMA), which mandates that oil earnings go into the Petroleum Holding Fund until they are later approved by the legislature.
“Our fear of JOHL assets being used as a slush fund has been materialised and I’m making particular reference to the collateralisation of oil revenues accrued by JOHL for a $420m debt arrangement between GNPC and LITASCO,” Boakye said.
“The politicians are using it the way they want and being less accountable about the assets to Ghanaians,” he lamented.
Meanwhile, a recent 2023 Semi-Annual report published by the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) highlighted that Jubilee Oil Holding Limited (JOHL) did not remit proceeds from liftings in H1 2023, totaling US$70,456,718.93, into the Petroleum Holding Fund (PHF).
This marks the fourth consecutive occurrence where the company failed to transfer the proceeds from liftings in the Jubilee and TEN Fields, amounting to US$343,108,927.88.
The petroleum revenue watchdog also noted that Kosmos Energy Ghana Limited incorrectly paid withholding tax into the Petroleum Holding Fund (PHF) in 2020 and 2021, totaling US$3,999,325.65.