Prof. H. Kwasi Prempeh seeks statutory enforcement powers for PIAC

Prof. H. Kwasi Prempeh, the Executive Director of the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), has called for legislative amendments to the Petroleum Revenue Management Act (PRMA), 2011, to grant the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) statutory enforcement powers. Speaking at the committee's 15th-anniversary lecture, Prof. Prempeh argued that PIAC requires the legal standing to take direct action against non-compliant entities to ensure the disciplined management of Ghana’s petroleum resources.

During his address, Prof. Prempeh highlighted that despite 15 years of consistent monitoring and reporting, accountability in the petroleum sector remains inadequate. He pointed specifically to significant sums of money still owed to the state by various companies, including those whose contracts were terminated as far back as 2021. Currently, PIAC is limited to identifying these infractions and reporting them, but it lacks the mandate to compel compliance or pursue legal remedies against companies that default on their obligations to the state.

The proposed amendments aim to provide PIAC with the necessary legal teeth to enforce its findings and reporting obligations. Prof. Prempeh emphasized that without the authority to litigate or impose sanctions, the committee’s efforts to ensure transparency are often undermined by a lack of follow-up action from executive agencies. By empowering PIAC, the state could more effectively recover outstanding debts and improve the overall governance of the oil and gas sector.

Reinforcing this position, PIAC Chairman Richard Ellimah stressed the long-term implications of current management decisions on future generations. He noted that the call for enhanced enforcement powers is fundamentally about transparency and protecting the nation's natural resource wealth. The discussion underscores a growing consensus among civil society actors that Ghana's oil revenue management framework must evolve from passive monitoring to active enforcement to better serve the public interest.