The Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) will no more have the privilege of controlling the country’s revenue generated from the sale of its petroleum products following the passage of the Petroleum Revenue Management (Amendment) Bill, 2015, into law.
The GNPC per the previous Petroleum Revenue Management Act, 2011 (Act 815), had the freedom of receiving the country’s petroleum revenue, deducts its share of the proceeds, before depositing the rest into the Petroleum Holding Fund.
However, with the passage of the Petroleum Revenue Management (Amendment) Bill, 2015, into law, that freedom has been taken away from them.
Under 2 of Section 7 of the amended Act 815, headed “Carried and participating interest”, the law demands that “Revenue due from the direct or indirect participation of the Republic in petroleum operations, including the carried and participating interest, shall be paid into the Petroleum Holding Fund.”
Clause 6 (4) of the amended Act 815 also states that “The Minister shall ensure that the Bank of Ghana transfers to a national oil company, the relevant portion of the petroleum revenue due to that national oil company under subsection (2)(a) and (2)(b) not later than three working days after the receipt of petroleum revenue into the Petroleum Holding Fund.”
Chairman of the Finance Committee of Parliament, James Klutse Avedzi, commenting on the issue said the amended provision is to ensure that all payments into the Petroleum Holding Fund are reconciled.
“Mr. Speaker, petroleum revenue is for the state and for that matter everything must go into the Petroleum Holding Fund first before disbursement is made.”
The Majority Chief Whip and MP for Asewase, Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka, had earlier opposed to the time frame withIN which the transaction to the GNPC should be made but had to back off from his argument after receiving assurances from his fellow colleagues it would cause no harm to the country’s oil firm.
“We believe it is very practical. It should not impede transfers to GNPC in anyway. It is in the status. Whoever delays it may have been deemed to have breached the status and must be sanctioned for it,” noted Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, Kwaku Agyeman Manu.
By: Kasapafmonline.com/Ghana
