Empower PIAC To Prosecute Petroleum Revenue Abusers -Dr. Steve Manteaw Tells Government
He stressed the need for the PIAC to continue to engage other stakeholders in the oil and gas sector, especially those that had been clothed with the mandate to manage and use petroleum revenue, on the way forward to ensure accountability in the use of the funds.
Freeman Koryekpor 
The immediate past Chairman of Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) Dr. Emmanuel Steve Asare Manteaw, has urged government to empower PIAC to prosecute people who misuse oil or petroleum revenue in the country.
Dr. Manteaw who doubles as a policy analyst and a communication strategist encouraged PIAC to collaborate with Commission of Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) in going to the law court to prosecute petroleum offenders or abusers in their reports in the natural resources sector.
Dr. Manteaw who has worked with the Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC) for 20 years noted that there are a lot envidence that the country is making a huge money from its natural resources yet the country is not making progress to improve the lives of Ghanaians, particularly those living in minerals endowed communities due to corrupt practices of some state officials.
According to Dr Manteaw, the PIAC had come up with several reports on the misuse of oil revenue over the last seven years but the recommendations had not been acted on by the appropriate bodies.
Against this backdrop, he reiterated the need for the PIAC to collaborate with institutions that have prosecutorial powers such as the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice , Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) and the Office of the Special Prosecutor to prosecute people who misuse the country's oil revenue,” he said.
He stressed the need for the PIAC to continue to engage other stakeholders in the oil and gas sector, especially those that had been clothed with the mandate to manage and use petroleum revenue, on the way forward to ensure accountability in the use of the petroleum funds.
Dr. Manteaw was speaking at the launch of a report on Public Interest And Accountability Committee in oil sector and Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC's) vision and activities to impact lives through community engagement.
The report was launched by civic organization that applies technology to ensures transparency and accountability, BudgIT Ghana in collaboration with Ford Foundation.
The Public Interest and Accountability Committee has started engaging the Auditor-General and other public accountability institutions to enforce sanction regimes and prosecute people who misuse oil revenue.
Speaking at the official launch of the report, the Global Director of BudgIT Ghana, Mr. Oluseun Onigbinde stressed, they realized that the PIAC identified lapses of institutions in all natural resources including petroleum but don't have the mandates to prosecute.
In this sense, Mr Onigbinde, therefore, called on government to review PIAC's mandates to be able to sanction or prosecute petroleum offenders of
any misuse of petroleum revenue in committee reports.
Mr.Oluseun further explained, the report also revealed that, government delays its fundings to PIAC's operational activities, which he said was not the best.
He indicated that the PIAC also delays publishing its report on its operations, which BudglT Ghana recommends that government must focus on building PIAC'S capacity to deliver on its mandates.
Furthermore, BudgIT Ghana recommended PIAC to provide independent assessment also ensures to organize public forum to engage stakeholders and report to media on all governanment activities.
For his part, the Acting Country Lead of BudgIT Ghana, Mr. Felix Ankrah called on GNPC to be transparency of its activities by creating awareness of GNPC's projects and also prioritise community engagement and Consultation.
