The Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) has advised the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) to desist from granting loans and guarantees until recoveries are made with reference to outstanding loans.
This comes after reports that the Petroleum Corporation could not realize its budgeted revenue from loans and guarantees due to debts owed it by the government.
According to the Public Interest and Accountability’s 2021 annual report, the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) in 2021, could not realize its budgeted revenue from loans and guarantees amounting to US$126.7 million out of an accumulated total of US$318 million owed it by government and its agencies since 2011.US$3.8 million spent by GNPC on the Maritime Boundary Dispute in 2017 has still not been refunded.
In 2021, the Corporation spent US$640,292 on the Maritime Boundary Special Project. As it stands, GNPC has spent a total of US$11.9 million on Maritime Boundary related activities, even though the Ghana Boundary Commission is responsible for such activities.
PIAC’s report further disclosed that GNPC’s expenditure on Corporate Social Investments remains high, increasing from GH₵41.49 million in 2018 to GH₵49.98 million in 2019, with the Corporation’s guarantees for other state-owned enterprises, amounting to US$645.5 million in 2019.
This is about double that of 2018, and also outweighs the Corporation’s total equity financing expenditure of US$164.79 million for 2019.
It is in this regard that the Chairman of PIAC, Prof. Kwame Adom-Frimpong, is asking the Petroleum Corporation to stop giving out loans and guarantees and ramp up its efforts in recovering the debts owed them by government.
“PIAC calls on GNPC to double up efforts at recovering loans to government and its agencies to ensure that the Corporation’s work programme does not suffer from non-implementation. For now, GNPC should discontinue granting loans and guarantees until significant recoveries are made with respect to outstanding loans and guarantees owed the Corporation.”