The Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) has expressed concerns over the financial health of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) due to the government’s outstanding $1 billion debt.
PIAC warns that GNPC’s financial stability is in jeopardy if it stops receiving funds from the Petroleum Holding Fund by 2026, as stipulated by the Petroleum Revenue Management Act.
Mark Agyemang, PIAC’s Technical Manager, pointed out that the government and its agencies owe nearly $1 billion to GNPC, which has led to severe financial pressure on the corporation.
He added that GNPC is often tasked with pre-financing or guaranteeing loans for other state-owned enterprises, including the Volta River Authority (VRA), Karpowership, the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), the Western Corridor Road Enclaves, and the Tema Oil Refinery.
“The government is responsible for the country’s development. These state-owned enterprises can contribute through corporate social responsibility or investment. We have extensively documented cases where the government requests GNPC to pre-finance, provide guarantees, or loan funds to other state-owned enterprises.
“We have examples like VRA, Karpowership, ECG, the western corridor road enclaves, and the Tema Oil Refinery, where GNPC is currently owed almost a billion dollars. The state is supposed to repay them, but it is also the state funding them. This inconsistency causes financial headaches for the corporation,” he said.
He called for a review of P.N.D.C.L 64, the law establishing GNPC, to allow the corporation to achieve financial independence.
“If GNPC’s governance structure is diversified enough, with appointees not solely from the government, independent bodies could also make board appointments to GNPC. This would enable them to reject certain demands from the government,” he said.