Seek parliamentary approval or risk GH₵30k fine, 5-year jail – GNPC management told
The Director-General of the Internal Audit Agency (iAA), Dr Eric Oduro Osae, has asked the management of the Ghana National Petroleum Commission (GNPC), to seek parliamentary approval for a $1.65 billion offshore oil and gas exploration deal or risk sanctions.
Failure to do so, he has recommended punishment of a GH₵30,000 fine or a five-year jail term or both under section 92 of the Public Procurement Act.
In the $1.65 billion deal, the Corporation is seeking to have a 70% stake in the South Deep Water Tano (SDWT) operated by AGM Petroleum, and a 37% stake in the Deep Water Tano/Cape Three Points (DWT/CTP) operated by Aker Energy.
However, Dr Oduro Osae has raised concerns against the background of breaches in the Auditor General’s report which found that GNPC entered into five international contracts without parliamentary approval, worth more than $34.8 million.
The act of GNPC was contrary to provisions in Article 181(5) of the 1992 Constitution which mandates all international business or economic transactions involving the government to have a parliamentary endorsement.
Amid these findings, the director-general of the audit agency has called for express parliamentary approval on the GNPC’s quest to take stakes in Aker Energy and AGM Petroleum.
He was contributing to discussions monitored by The Ghana Report on News File on Joy FM over the weekend.
“Article 181(5) is clear, and when you look at the GNPC Act, they are a state institution, the business they are undertaken is for Ghanaians, and they are expected to comply with the public financial management laws of Ghana.
So, to that extent, I believe that this international business transaction directly falls under Article 181(5), and they ought to have gone to parliament for approval, and GNPC would just have to do the needful,” he explained.
Listen to CSOs and ensure value for money with the Aker transaction
On concerns raised by Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) regarding the contract, he urged GNPC to “listen to the CSOs and where there is the need for data synchronisation, they synchronise the data.”
“We have the duty to protect all Ghanaians and if CSOs believe strongly that they have data that can support the work of GNPC and GNPC has data that will not inure to the benefit of all Ghanaians, they have every right to go to court to compel GNPC to use the required data in the interest of Ghana,” he stated.
READ ALSO: 15 CSOs Raise Alarm Over GNPC Plans To Acquire Stakes In Aker Energy
He underscored that GNPC has been entrusted with the responsibility to manage the oil and gas exploration deal for value on behalf of Ghanaians.
This, he believes would be of importance “for those of us alive today to meet our developmental needs, and lay the foundation for the future generation to their developmental needs.”
Auditor General’s findings on GNPC’s breaches on international contracts
In its 2020 report, the A-G observed that the management of GNPC signed and awarded international business contracts totalling US$34,165,235.15 and £464,963.13 to five foreign suppliers or contractors.
The report also noted that GNPC used a single-source method in four of those transactions and in one instance used the restricted tendering method without seeking the necessary parliamentary approvals.
Based on these findings, it was, “recommended that the management of GNPC should be sanctioned in accordance with Section 92 of the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663) as amended for breaching the Public Procurement Law.”
Commenting on this issue, Dr Oduro Osae, said, “the Act is clear that if you breach or contravene this Act you commit an offence and the penalty is 2,500 penalty units or a term of imprisonment not exceeding five years, or to both.”
He then pushed for such sanction to be carried out against the management of GNPC, while he cautioned management over the Aker/AGM oil and gas exploration deal.
READ ALSO: GNPC Seeks For $1.65 Billion For Oil And Gas Exploration