Finance Ministry defends petroleum fund transparency amid PIAC report row

Ghana's Finance Ministry has firmly pushed back against accusations that it concealed information on the Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA), reasserting its commitment to transparency in the management of petroleum revenues. The denial came after the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) excluded ABFA utilisation data from its 2026 Semi-Annual Report, prompting questions about information access.

In a statement released on Friday, October 23, 2026, the Ministry clarified that it had consistently shared petroleum receipts and distribution records with PIAC, along with detailed explanations of how ABFA resources are being deployed. The Ministry emphasised that officials had participated actively in PIAC's validation workshop and held direct meetings with the Committee to walk through petroleum revenue flows and ABFA arrangements, including the controversial decision to ring-fence funds for the Accra–Kumasi Expressway project.

The Accra–Kumasi Expressway decision

The heart of the dispute centres on how ABFA funds are being allocated. The Ministry has ring-fenced all petroleum revenues allocated to the Accra–Kumasi Expressway, citing paragraph 572 of the 2026 Mid-Year Fiscal Policy Review. According to the statement, these funds will remain set aside until the construction contract is formally awarded, at which point they will be deployed for the project.

The Ministry framed this concentration of resources as a deliberate strategy to maximise national impact. Rather than spreading petroleum money thinly across multiple projects with limited economic benefit, the decision to concentrate funds on a single major infrastructure initiative is intended to deliver tangible value for money and clear national benefits. The approach reportedly aligns with recommendations from PIAC itself, which had advised against dispersing petroleum revenues across numerous small-scale ventures.

Addressing District Assembly concerns

The Ministry also moved to counter suggestions that District Assemblies have lost out financially under the new arrangement. It explained that the five per cent share of ABFA due to the District Assemblies Common Fund continues to be paid, but from the Consolidated Fund rather than directly from petroleum revenues. This administrative shift, the Ministry insisted, ensures that local government structures receive their statutory allocation without interruption.

"Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies have therefore not been shortchanged by the decision to ring-fence ABFA resources for the expressway," the statement said, emphasising that the payment mechanism does not diminish the value of funds reaching sub-national government.

Why it matters for Ghana

This exchange highlights ongoing tensions around petroleum fund governance in Ghana. PIAC, established under the Petroleum Revenue Management Act to provide independent oversight of oil revenue use, plays a critical role in holding government accountable. When PIAC excludes ABFA data from its public reports, it signals concern about either information access or fund deployment decisions—or both.

For ordinary Ghanaians, the stakes are high. Petroleum revenues represent a finite national resource that should deliver lasting benefits for development. Whether funds are deployed strategically to flagship projects like the Accra–Kumasi Expressway or distributed across smaller initiatives ultimately affects job creation, economic productivity and living standards across regions.

The Ministry's reaffirmation that it will continue publishing petroleum fund details in annual reports, budget statements and reconciliation reports provides some reassurance. However, the gap between the Ministry's claim of full transparency and PIAC's apparent dissatisfaction suggests that the conversation over petroleum governance remains contested. Ghanaians monitoring this issue should keep a close eye on whether future PIAC reports include the ABFA data that was notably absent from the 2026 semi-annual version.