 has raised red flags over the government’s decision to channel a greater share of oil revenues into the “Big Push” infrastructure programme, warning that the move is undermining budgetary allocations to critical oil and gas agencies.){kind=link}
The Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) has raised red flags over the government’s decision to channel a greater share of oil revenues into the “Big Push” infrastructure programme, warning that the move is undermining budgetary allocations to critical oil and gas agencies.
The government’s ambitious $10 billion Big Push Infrastructure Programme aims to accelerate national development through massive investment in roads, bridges, energy, and transport networks. To finance the initiative, government has redirected funds from the Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA), Ghana’s key vehicle for managing petroleum revenues.
However, PIAC says this reallocation is coming at a cost.
Speaking at a media engagement in Accra on the 2025 Semi-Annual Report on petroleum revenue management, Vice Chairman of PIAC, Odeefuo Amoakwa Boadu VIII, cautioned that while the Big Push initiative is laudable, diverting petroleum funds away from core oil and gas operations could stifle sectoral growth and investment at a time when petroleum production is already declining.
“Although the initiative is commendable, it is likely to affect investments in the sector as the country continues to experience declines in petroleum production,” he said.
Odeefuo Amoakwa Boadu VIII explained that the reallocation has significantly reduced the share of petroleum revenues available to vital sector agencies such as the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC).
For instance, he revealed that for the first half of 2025, petroleum revenue earmarked for GNPC’s operations and institutional capacity building fell from 30 percent to just 15 percent of net Carried and Participating Interest (CAPI).
He further noted that PIAC itself has suffered a major budgetary setback following the implementation of the Petroleum Revenue Management (Amendment) Act, 2025 (Act 1138), which removes the Committee’s funding from the ABFA.
“With the coming into force of the new Act, PIAC’s budget is no longer to be charged to the ABFA,” he explained. “The GH₵4.6 million approved for PIAC’s 2025 programmes represents just 21.43 percent of our annual budget and 41.07 percent of the funds approved for 2024.”
According to the PIAC Vice Chairman, the government’s current financing approach means nearly 100 percent of ABFA allocations are being committed to the Big Push initiative, leaving only 5 percent for other statutory beneficiaries such as the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF).
He warned that the drastic budget cuts have severely constrained PIAC’s ability to discharge its statutory oversight functions, including monitoring the collection, allocation, and utilization of petroleum revenues in line with the Petroleum Revenue Management Act (PRMA).
“The significant budget cut has severely limited PIAC’s ability to effectively fulfil its statutory mandate,” he lamented.
The 2025 Semi-Annual Report, covering the period January to June 2025, assesses key aspects of Ghana’s petroleum revenue management. These include production levels, crude oil liftings, total revenues accrued to the state, ABFA allocations, and the performance of the Ghana Petroleum Funds, notably the Ghana Stabilisation Fund and Ghana Heritage Fund.