by Abdul Karim Naatogmah
An outspoken member of the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC), Dr. Steve Manteaw has cautioned Ghana’s crude oil managers against hedging the product at the international markets.
He explained that the risks associated with such practice could shortchange the nation’s petroleum revenue.
He thus called for a price stabilization mechanism in tandem with transparency provisions enshrined in the nation’s petroleum laws.
Dr. Steve Manteaw raised these concerns when he presented a paper on the 2016 Semi Annual Report dubbed, “International crude prices and jubilee achieved prices.”
This was at the beginning of a three-day workshop on interrogating the 2016 Annual Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) report spearheaded by the Institute of Financial and Economic Journalists (IFEJ) and sponsored by the GIZ.
Dr. Steve Manteaw posited that excessive political interference continued to affect the profitability of commercial state owned enterprises including the Ghana Oil Company (GOIL).
He thus advised successive governments to discontinue the phenomenon of sacking Chief Executive Officers of state owned enterprises whenever there is change of political power.
He commended government for rescinding its decision to fund the flagship “Free Senior High School” policy with the Heritage Fund.
He underscored the need for government to always listen to the populace outcry on controversial issues likely to make President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo’s administration unpopular.
Some selected Journalists across the country were schooled on topics such as Ghana National Petroleum Company’s allocations and expenditure, levels of compliance of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act and Volta River Authority’s indebtedness to the Ghana National Gas Company.
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