Ghana’s petroleum revenue oversight body has flagged a potential legal compliance breach in the transfer of US$434.55 million in oil revenues intended for the Accra–Kumasi Expressway, warning that the arrangement falls outside the current legal framework governing petroleum funds.
The Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) disclosed the concern at the launch of its 2025 Annual Report in Accra on Wednesday, April 8, revealing that the Ministry of Finance transferred the funds from the Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA) into a special purpose vehicle (SPV) set up by the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF) for the expressway project.
The core of PIAC’s concern is that the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF) is no longer designated under the Petroleum Revenue Management (Amendment) Act, 2025 (Act 1138) as a recipient of oil revenues for infrastructure, making the transfer legally irregular even if the underlying project has merit.
The funds are currently being held in a suspense account at the Bank of Ghana (BoG) pending feasibility studies for the Accra–Kumasi Expressway, meaning hundreds of millions of dollars in public petroleum wealth remain idle and undisbursed.
The government has yet to disclose the project scope, contractor details, contract sum, or payments made, compounding what PIAC describes as a transparency deficit on one of the country’s most high-profile infrastructure commitments.
PIAC Chairman Richard Ellimah clarified at the launch that the committee is not opposed to financing the expressway through oil revenues, but insisted the mechanism must be legally sound. “The transfer was not necessarily wrong but raised concerns about legal compliance and the need for greater transparency in project details and oversight,” he said.
To regularise the arrangement, the committee recommended that the government establish a clear legal basis within the Petroleum Revenue Management Act (PRMA) for transferring ABFA funds intended for the Big Push to the GIIF.
The Ministry of Finance has defended the approach. A Technical Advisor at the Ministry, Dr Theophilus Acheampong, stated that the funds would not be disbursed until the ongoing feasibility studies for the Accra–Kumasi Expressway were completed, ensuring proper technical and financial planning.
The disclosure comes as Ghana’s petroleum receipts face significant strain. Total petroleum receipts for 2025 stood at US$770.27 million, representing a sharp 43.27 percent drop from the US$1.36 billion recorded in 2024, with crude production falling for the sixth consecutive year.
PIAC’s 2025 report makes clear that with oil revenues shrinking and major funds sitting dormant in a holding account, both legal rigour and public disclosure are no longer optional; they are essential to protecting what remains of Ghana’s petroleum wealth.
