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The Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) is still struggling to recover the ¢ 778.6 million GH owed to it by the government and its related agencies since 2015.
Although the amount owed by the government, the Ministry of Finance, the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) and the Ghana National Gas Company Limited (Ghana Gas) has been on the corporation’s books since 2015, there is no clear payment plan. for de side of the company. debtors to pay off their debt.
This came to light when GNPC officials appeared before Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) yesterday to respond to the issues raised against the GNPC in the 2017 Auditor General’s report.
The GNPC team was led by its Deputy Executive Director (CEO) in charge of Commercials, Mr. Joseph Dadzie.
Sitting cap
The PAC reviewed the Auditor General’s report on public boards, corporations, and other statutory institutions for 2017.
In yesterday’s session, three agencies under the Ministry of Energy appeared: the GNPC, the Petroleum Commission (PC) and the Northern Electricity Distribution Company Limited (NEDCo).
The National Electrification Plan (NES), another agency of the ministry, was billed to appear before the PAC, but its officials did not appear.
Debt details
Giving details of the indebtedness with the GNPC, Dadzie said that the government owes the GH corporation ¢ 102.5 million, while the Ministry of Finance, TOR and Ghana Gas owes GH ¢ 261.1 million, GH ¢ 198.8 million and GH ¢ 216.2 million, respectively.
He said that the debtors’ failure to redeem their debt had adversely affected the corporation’s liquidity and indicated that there was no immediate plan to recover the money owed to the company.
“We have no other choice because the state owes us and if the state refuses to pay the amount, there is really nothing it can do; but we have had challenges with cash flow, especially in this period when we have seen crude oil prices drop, “he said.
He said the Finance Ministry had made some payments on behalf of the GNPC for gas purchases, so a broader reconciliation of payments would be necessary to get a true picture of the corporation’s debt levels.
Drama
The drama unfolded in the PAC session when the committee’s leadership crossed fire on GH ¢ 4.5 million paid by the GNPC to some state agencies and private entities as corporate social responsibility (CSR).
A public interest question posed to Mr. Dadzie, as to why the corporation gave GH ¢ 500,000 to the Economic and Organized Crime Organization (EOCO) and specified amounts to the Rebecca and Okyenhene Foundation, caused the displeasure of the Deputy Classification Member of the committee and Member of Parliament for Nantong, Mr. Mohammed Hardi Tuferu.
The deputy of the Democratic National Congress (NDC) for Ningo-Prampram, Mr. Sam George, who asked the question, sought to know what the decision of the GNPC to finance the activities of such entities had implied.
Although the question was approved by the PAC president, Mr. James Avedzi, Mr. Tuferu accused the president of acting unfairly by unilaterally allowing the question.
“We have the practice that every question of public interest must go through the committee for approval, but this time the chair never referred any of those questions on a matter related to 2019, which is a long way from the 2017 audit accounts, that we are looking at today, ”he said.
Mr. Tuferu’s reaction generated heated exchanges between the two leaders, as each of them spoke simultaneously to defend their case.
After a round-trip period, Mr. Avedzi dismissed the GNPC officials and adjourned the session until today.
Petroleum Commission
The PC team had to answer questions on management-related issues raised by the Auditor General.
For example, the audit report cited the commission for hiring seven consultants to guide its staff, with no provisions in the consultants’ job description for periodic reporting.
It also cited the PC for transferring cash to some accounts, in violation of the Finance Ministry directive that all money payable to the Energy Ministry be paid through the ministry’s account at the Bank of Ghana.
In response to those charges, PC CEO Egbert Faibille Jnr said the number of consultants had been reduced to just one.
“Immediately this matter was raised at the audit finding, we addressed it and I can report that from the date of the audit issue until now, we have caused changes to the existing consultant contract,” he said.
He said that corrective measures had also been taken to resolve those management lapses, as recommended by the Auditor General.
NEDCo
NEDCo was fired by the committee after just two minutes after its officials responded satisfactorily to the only violation for which the company had been cited.
He was cited for failing to maintain key records properly due to malfunctioning software called Oracle, but his officials said the software had gotten into good shape.
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