By Kizito CUDJOE
The Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC), the statutory body mandated to monitor petroleum revenue management, has seen its operations stall after the government scrapped its dedicated share of petroleum revenue funding.
Seven months into 2025, PIAC has conducted only one regional engagement in the Ashanti Region and two oil-funded project inspections in the Northern and Eastern regions, far short of its target of 16 per quarter, which total 64 annual inspections by the end of the year.
These programmes were done with significant funding support from the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), a German development agency, and Good Governance Africa, a non-profit organisation dedicated to enhancing governance across the African continent.
Also suspended are several planned public outreach activities, including media engagements on its 2024 Annual Report, which forms part of its legal mandate under the Petroleum Revenue Management Act (PRMA), Act 815.
These developments are occurring against the backdrop that the amount approved in the national budget for PIAC for 2025 is GH¢4.6 million, representing 21.90 percent of the budget for 2025 and 55 percent of the actual receipt for 2024. This is per the 2025 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government.
According to sources, this amount is, however, yet to be received by PIAC. These setbacks follow recent amendments to the PRMA, passed earlier this year. The 2025 revision, Act 1138, effectively removes the provision that previously guaranteed PIAC a dedicated portion of petroleum revenues to fund its operations.
Under the now-repealed Section 21 of the 2015 amendment to the PRMA, at least 70 percent of the Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA), the portion of oil revenue allocated to the national budget, was to be used for public investment, with PIAC’s budget treated as a direct charge on the fund. This provision ensured a degree of financial independence and protected PIAC from arbitrary budget cuts.
However, the new amendments integrate the ABFA fully into the national budget, making its use subject to general budgetary procedures. The revised law now directs that allocations from the ABFA be guided by a Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and long-term development plan, and prioritised for economic development, regional equity and infrastructure. It further states that a maximum of five percent of the ABFA earmarked for infrastructure development may be allocated to the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF).
In addition, Section 57(3), which provided further protection for PIAC’s funding, has been repealed. The reforms have triggered concern among civil society organisations and governance experts, who warn that PIAC’s independence and capacity to fulfil its oversight duties are at risk. “Removing PIAC’s direct charge on petroleum revenue undermines its ability to function effectively,” said the Africa Senior Programme Officer, Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI), Denis Gyeyir.
This development, he said, takes PIAC a decade backwards to pre-2015 days when PIAC funding was at the pleasure of the Ministry of Finance. “The Committee, in most cases, had to rely on oversight actors and media advocates who had to ‘make noise’ before funds would be disbursed for PIAC’s work. One does not expect that the Minister of Finance, who is subject to PIAC’s oversight mandate, would be given the discretion on PIAC’s funding.”
PIAC, established in 2011 under the PRMA, plays a critical role in ensuring that oil revenues are used in line with national development priorities and legal requirements. Its reports have frequently highlighted inefficiencies, non-compliance, and misallocations in the petroleum sector, often serving as a check on both government and state agencies.
Mr. Gyeyir asserted that the recent amendment reflects a lack of political will to adopt or comply with a long-term development strategy.
The Ministry of Finance has yet to publicly explain the rationale behind the funding withdrawal, but sources say it forms part of a strong desire by the government to use petroleum revenues for prosecuting its Big Push agenda. In the absence of a guaranteed funding source, stakeholders say PIAC’s watchdog role will continue to erode unless a sustainable and independent financing model is restored.
