The Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) semi-annual report for the period of January to June 2023 has faultedJubilee Oil Holding Limited (JOHL) in the payment of its oil proceeds
The report revealed that the company has failed to pay proceeds amounting to over US$70 million.
The amount is from liftings into the petroleum holding fund for the first half of 2023.
This is the fourth consecutive time the company has reportedly not paid proceeds into the Petroleum Fund, contrary to the advice of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation.
According to the report, the total amount of money the company has failed to pay has increased to US$340 million.
The chairman of PIAC, Professor Kwame Adom-Frimpong, has therefore urged parliament to intervene.
“It has been a debatable area where it has been mentioned that the lifting funds are supposed to go to the Petroleum Holding Fund at the Bank of Ghana, but there are some counter-arguments. GNPC is giving its own argument, Attorney General advices and then PIAC is also advised. PIAC, we are of the view that the money from JOHL still should go into the Bank of Ghana as part of the Petroleum Holding Fund. This year, we have gotten $70.4 million. It’s still not gone yet.”
“So if you add up all the money that has been obtained from lifting by the JOHL, it comes to $343.1 million dollars and our stand is that it should go, but contrary views are given. It’s a point where the debate will still continue. We report to Parliament, so Parliament should come out, and the matter will be concluded,” he said in a press engagement on Thursday, October 19, 2023.
By: Rashid Obodai Provencal/Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
