Coordinator for the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC), Isaac Dwamena, has stated that a major action that has plunged the Ghana National Petroleum Company (GNPC) into its current debt is that they engage in activities other than their constitutional mandate.
He stated that the current situation sees GNPC shouldering responsibilities that traditionally fall under the purview of the central government.
This follows a report by PIAC titled; ‘The Role of GNPC in the Upstream Petroleum Industry: Challenges and Prospects, which stated that the survival of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) could come under threat as the government’s indebtedness to the Corporation continues to pile up.
As of the end of 2022, the government owes the GNPC to the tune of $1.14 billion.
Speaking on Eyewitness News, Mr. Dwamena emphasised that national oil companies typically avoid certain expenditures to allow central governments to undertake development projects.
He warned that continuing this trend could lead to an overextension of the GNPC’s role, potentially overshadowing the central government’s responsibilities in citizens’ eyes.
“These are also quasi expenditures which are not expected to be made by national oil companies. In fact, if you look at the international standard of extractive industry resources, their management and the protocol that relates to them, a lot of national oil companies abstain from these expenditures to give room for the central government to do these projects.
“If we are continuing like that then the national oil company will become such a colossal body that will get so powerful to the point that citizens will look up to the national oil company to do development for citizens rather than the central government.
“The responsibility of these projects is on central government rather than these state-owned enterprises, not only GNPC,” he stated.
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