The Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) has engaged students of the Nyankpala campus of the University for Development Studies at a forum at Nyankpala in the Northern region. The aim was to educate the students about the mandate of PIAC and to gather their concerns on petroleum revenue usage.

During the interactive forum, tens of students expressed their disappointment with management of petroleum revenue over the past decade, and demanded that the revenue should be put to more sustainable usage.

The UDS students and some lecturers made these calls after a presentation by PIAC on a decade of petroleum revenue management. The presentation showed that out of the US$6.9billion accrued from oil revenue over the period, only nine percent of that revenue is actually being saved for future generations through the Ghana Heritage Fund (GHF).

The remaining 91 percent has been spent on recurrent basis through the Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA), Ghana Stabilisation Fund (GSF) and Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) as an administrative organisation.

Prof. Samuel Donkor, Dean of the School of Applied Economics and Management Sciences, Nyankpala Campus, UDS, representing the Principal, Prof. George Nyarko as Chairman for the forum, said after a decade of generating petroleum revenue, Ghanaians were expecting more projects other than the four major ones -Kotoka International Airport Terminal three (KIA T3), Kojokrom-Tarkwa Railway, the Enchi-Asankragua road and Free SHS programme, to show as success stories as indicated by PIAC. He called for a review of the PRMA to give citizens an opportunity to make inputs into how petroleum revenue should be used.

The forum, which was the first time PIAC was meeting students of UDS, saw about 500 students participating. The members of PIAC present, Mr. Eric Defor, Alhaji Suleman Anderson and Hajia Dr. Kansawurche Azara Bukari took turns to address the concerns of the students and lecturers. They indicated that, PIAC also believes in, and has actually recommended that fewer legacy projects should be identified and supported by the ABFA.

Some of the other Senior Members present at the forum were Prof. George Nyarko the Principal of the Nyankpala Campus, Dr. Edward Salifu Mahama, the Dean of the faculty of Communication and Cultural Studies, Prof. Jasper Ayelazuno Abembia, Vice Dean, Faculty of Communication and Cultural Studies, Dr Eliasu Mumuni, Head of Department, Communication, Innovation and Technology and Mr. Chentiba Ahmed Taufique, Head of Department, Public Relations and Advertising.

PIAC later presented copies of the Semi-Annual Report on the Management and Use of Petroleum Revenues for the period January -June 2021 to the head of University Relations, Mr. Abdul Hayi Moomen.