The Ministry of Energy’s attention has been drawn to a rather mischievous statement by the minority group in parliament, led by its ranking Member on the Mines and Energy Committee, Hon. John Jinapor on the above subject, with the unfortunate aim of sullying the reputation of His Excellency the President and some senior government officials. We find their statement engineered, clearly, on the altar of political expediency and wish to correct the deliberate falsehoods contained in same as follows:
- The Work Programme of the National Oil Company, Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) is approved every year by Parliament which includes loans they may need to execute their programme.
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It is important to state that, this particular facility the minority mischievously makes allusion to is being re-financed for the sixth time. In the 2023 Work Programme of the GNPC, the corporation indicated clearly, their intentions to raise $620million from the LITASCO facility to finance their work programme and proceeded to obtain the necessary parliamentary approval including the refinancing of the loan.
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Parliament’s Mines and Energy Committee has since requested that the terms and conditions of the loan be brought to Parliament in line with the oversight functions of the house. This is trite and the right thing to do. Government actors in this matter have no intentions of hiding any part of the process in secrecy.
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With a clear understanding of the importance of parliamentary approvals in our democracy and the house not seen as a rubber stamp, government actors shall not under any circumstance finalise the terms and conditions of a loan before approval by parliament. In this instant case, government knows that it needs approval and not a ratification from parliament.
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Now, GNPC settled on the terms and conditions of this facility with LITASCO just last week Thursday, September 14, 2023, duly obtaining its Board’s approval. The record will show, that on the same day, the document was sent to the Ministry of Energy for a “no objection”. After the Ministry of Energy expressed its no objection, it then forwarded the document to the Ministry of Finance for its ‘no objection” and approval too, in line with the dictates of the Public Financial Management Act (PFMA). MOF’s approval was given on Friday, September, 15, 2023.
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The document is now due for Parliament when the house reconvenes in mid-October for approval.
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From the foregoing, it is clear that, GNPC needed to meticulously finalise the terms and conditions of the facility and obtain the necessary procedural approvals ahead of the final parliamentary approval.
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The Ministry therefore struggles to establish why the ranking Member and the minority group, given their expected knowledge of these procedural requirements, would allege wrongdoing on the part of government actors and in fact impugn the integrity of even His Excellency the President, when indeed, what is being done is in line with law, propriety and in fact, the principles of good governance. The only possible reason one can larch unto for the minority’s action is to cause disaffection for government for possible electoral gains, given the proximity to the electioneering campaign season.
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We, on the back of the above-stated incontrovertible facts reject outrightly, the inaccurate claims by the ranking Member and his colleagues to the effect that the facility is being procured clandestinely and not in accordance with law.
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We wish to caution that, these hasty claims of a mirage of some misdeed on the part of government, obviously for political benefits, will as a matter of fact continue to denigrate the reputation of the entire political class. The collateral damage, will naturally, be suffered by the minority too.
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The general public is therefore asked to completely disregard the statement by the minority and treat it with the utmost contempt it deserves.
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Issued by the Communications & Public Affairs Unit
