PIAC Pushes for Prosecutorial Powers as Ghana Loses Millions to Misapplied Petroleum Funds

The Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) is calling for prosecutorial powers to enable it surcharge and hold public officials accountable for the misappropriation and misapplication of petroleum funds.

The Executive Secretary of PIAC, Mr. Isaac Dwamena, says the continued disregard for enforcement of financial irregularities in the petroleum sector is undermining transparency and accountability in Ghana’s oil revenue management.

According to him, weak enforcement mechanisms have allowed instances of misapplied funds to go unpunished, despite clear provisions in the Petroleum Revenue Management Act (PRMA).

Mr. Dwamena also raised concerns about the persistent capping of petroleum funds, describing the practice as a violation of existing laws governing the management of oil revenues.

He made these remarks during the second cohort training of the Africa Extractive Media Fellowship held at the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS).

He lamented on how accrued monies in the heritage fund meant for future unforeseen events were dissipated for management of COVID-19 and Same has been repeated by the current administration thereby reducing the amount from a whopping $2.8billion to paltry $100million as at June,2026.

Declining outputs

Data from the 2025 PIAC Report paints a worrying picture of the petroleum sector. Total petroleum receipts dropped significantly by over 43 percent, falling to about 770 million dollars in 2025 from approximately 1.36 billion dollars in 2024.

In the first half of 2025 alone, petroleum revenues declined by as much as 56 percent, largely due to reduced crude oil production and falling global oil prices.

Crude oil production also saw a sharp decline of nearly 26 percent during the same period, highlighting broader structural challenges within Ghana’s upstream petroleum sector.

Warning

PIAC warns that these declining revenues, coupled with weak enforcement and governance gaps, pose significant risks to the effective management of petroleum resources.

The Committee is therefore urging government to strictly adhere to petroleum laws, strengthen accountability systems, and empower oversight institutions with the legal authority to sanction and recover misused public funds.

Story by Robert Anokye Gyamfi,

ESG Strategist and Extractive Journalist.