The government has ordered the transfer of US$15,652,000 for the Accra-Tema Motorway and Extension PPP Project and US$11,877,324.79 for Agenda 111 into the respective Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund accounts.
The amounts are part of the US$121,197,191.76 total petroleum receipts available to the government and being distributed in line with the Petroleum Revenue Management Act 2011 (Act 815) as amended.
The Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, in a letter dated June 30, 2023 which has been sighted by The Chronicle, directed the Controller and Accountant General to transfer the funds for the Accra-Tema Motorway and Agenda 111 into their respective Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund accounts.
In delivering the budget last year, the Minister for Finance told Parliament that the Accra-Tema Motorway expansion project would begin this year.
He said the government had reached a decision to procure the 27.7-kilometer project through the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF) under a public-private partnership arrangement.
President Akufo-Addo, during his COVID-19 address series, announced the construction of hospitals in districts without one and regional hospitals numbering 111.
DISTRIBUTION
According to the Petroleum Revenue Management law, 70% of government’s receipts should be transferred into the Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA) and the remaining 30% into the Ghana Petroleum Fund.
As such, the letter directed that an amount of US$84,838,034.23 should go into the ABFA, while US$36,359,157.53 goes into the Ghana Petroleum Fund.
Out of the ABFA of US$84,838,034.23 0 – 70% amounting to US$59,386,623.96 is to be reserved for Public Investment Expenditure (Capex) and 30% amounting to US$25,451,410.27 is for Goods and Services.
“Of the amount of the ABFA Capex of US$59,386,623.96 an amount of US$11,877,324.79 – representing 20% of the ABFA Capex – is to be transferred to the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF Agenda 111) of the 2021 Budget Statement and Appendix 3C of the 2023 Budget Statement,” the letter stated.
In the same letter, the Minister for Finance directed the Controller and Accountant General to transfer an amount of US$4,241,901.71 to the District Assembly Common Fund.
The letter explained that the money is 5% of the ABFA allocation for the lifting of                      US$ 84,838,034.23.
The letter explained that it was in compliance with the Supreme Court ruling in Kpodo and Another v. Attorney-General in 2019, which provided among others, that “not less than 5% of ABFA must be paid to the DACF.”
However, the letter noted that “to be consistent with the 2023 Fiscal Framework, these amounts to be transferred from the ABFA will be reflected in the Earmarked Fund Capping Schedule for the purposes of information.”
GNPC
According to the letter dated June 30, addressed to the Controller and Accountant General, total proceeds from the state’s Seventy-First crude oil liftings from the Jubilee Field amounted to US$71,260,766.09.
The Minister for Finance has given authorization for the transfer of US$29,009,728 into the accounts of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC).
The US$29 million is to be paid into three accounts: 30% carried and participating interest, that is, US$9,604.697.82; and equity financing cost, US$19,405,030.28.
The minister has requested that the GNPC pays US$11,929,326.64 from the equity financing cost to the Saltpond Field Decommissioning Project (SDP) “without delay”, given that the GNPC has “provided job completion certificates” covering the amount.
GNPC is to submit documents to the Ministry of Finance to justify the deduction of US$4.28 million from the US$13.75 million transferred to it under the 12th Sankofa lifting for the SDP as costs borne by GNPC on behalf of the SDP contractor for bank charges and fees.
The balance after deducting GNPC’s US$29 million from the total US$71.2 million amounts to US$42.2 million. Additional petroleum receipts reported by the Bank of Ghana along with the Seventy-First Jubilee cargo lifting amounted to US$78,946,153.77.
“Consequently, the additional petroleum receipts of US$78,946,153.77, together with the net actual lifting proceeds of US$42,251,037.9930 for the Government of Ghana (GoG), bring the total receipts available to GoG to US$121,197,191.76.”
