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President John Dramani Mahama has assured members of the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) that oil revenues earmarked for the proposed $10 billion "Big Push" infrastructure initiative will be efficiently disbursed and managed.
Speaking at the Jubilee House last Friday during a courtesy call on him by the members of PIAC, the President reiterated his government's ambitious plan to invest $10 billion over the next five years, allocating $2 billion annually into priority infrastructure projects across the country.
President Mahama mentioned the current infrastructure deficit of $1.5 billion, which had necessitated the introduction of the Big Push agenda to deal with the deficit.
He explained that the projects would target key sectors, including roads, major bridges, education and health infrastructure, as well as areas vital for boosting productivity in the agriculture sector.
President Mahama stated that the primary sources of funding for this significant policy initiative would be petroleum revenue and minerals royalties.
The PIAC team, comprising members led by its chairman, Constantine K. M. Kudzedzi, and Secretariat staff, called on the President to discuss issues related to the management and use of Ghana’s petroleum revenues and the workings of PIAC.
It was also to congratulate the President on his election victory.
Also at the meeting were the Personal Aide to the President, Joyce Bawah Mogtari; the Deputy Chief of Staff in charge of Administration, Nana Oye Bampoe Addo, and the Legal Counsel to the President, Marietta Agyeiwaa Brew.
President Mahama specified that agricultural projects under the "Big Push" would encompass irrigation schemes, construction of farmer service centres and support for agribusiness development.
Commending PIAC for its vital role, President Mahama praised the committee's efforts in monitoring and ensuring transparency and accountability in the utilisation of Ghana's petroleum revenues.
He highlighted PIAC as a commendable model for other countries seeking effective oversight mechanisms, and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to support PIAC to play its oversight role in the petroleum revenue management space.
President Mahama reiterated the importance of the committee’s role in ensuring the prudent management and use of the country’s petroleum revenues for impact and the benefit of all citizens, hence the need for it to be supported to function effectively.
PIAC’s operations have been adversely impacted by the removal of funding for the entity from the Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA), following the amendment of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act (PRMA), 2011 (Act 815) in April this year.
Per the amendment, the PRMA (Amended), 2025 (Act 1138), the use of the ABFA will be used for infrastructure development under the “Big Push” initiative by the government, as well as an allocation to the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) for the purpose of infrastructure development.
While acknowledging the impact of the removal of PIAC’s funding from the ABFA on its operations, President Mahama said the committee’s role as an oversight body for the country’s petroleum revenues was critical, hence his pledge to ensure that the committee was well-resourced.
The Chairman of PIAC expressed gratitude to the President for giving the committee the opportunity to engage him in order to bring some key issues to his attention.
Mr Kudzedzi said as the citizen oversight body mandated by law to monitor and evaluate the management and use of petroleum revenues, PIAC had a three-fold mandate that it had carried out since its establishment in 2011.
The PIAC Chair further explained that the recent amendment had removed the funding of PIAC from the ABFA, which had stalled all planned programmes and activities.
He proposed that subsequent amendments should be holistic and based on consultations, as PIAC was not aware of the amendment that led to the removal of the committee’s funding from the ABFA.
On the use of petroleum revenues for projects, Mr Kudzedzi said based on feedback from PIAC’s outreach programmes, there was the need to label oil funded projects so that citizens could feel and see the impact of the use of petroleum revenues.
He also proposed the involvement of local assemblies in the selection and implementation of projects for proper supervision and oversight.
