The African Center for Energy Policy (ACEP), wants the financial activities of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) investigated.
[contextly_sidebar id=”U8HPGhbUjs8RStcZCDkReuQ6LE6vi87p”]The policy think-tank is unhappy about revelations of financial irregularities made against the GNPC by the Auditor General.
ACEP says such financial irregularities have made the GNPC a slush fund for the government.
Speaking to Citi News, the Director of Operations for ACEP, Ben Boakye, said the activities of GNPC must be checked.
“GNPC has not just been dealing with government, they were also compelled to buy crude oil for VRA. VRA is also supposed to be run independently and be a profit-making entity; and so if government is ordering GNPC around to spend as and when they are required to, then they will lose track of their core mandate and that is where we have our concern.”
“We want Parliament to look immediately into the law that established GNPC and makes it mandatory that whether loan or any other engagement that they do outside their mandate, they seek parliamentary approval before they can do that.”
MP fires GNPC
Recently, the Member of Parliament for the Atwima-Mponua constituency in the Ashanti Region, Isaac Asiamah, raised concerns about GNPC’s decision to violate Parliament’s directive that ordered them not to rent an office complex, which according to him, was expensive and unnecessary.
“They wanted to rent an apartment and then we [Parliament] looked at their balance sheet, we looked at their inflows and said no, you have more money sitting there so why don’t you acquire your own property, build your own office so that it becomes the property of Ghana so that generations will benefit from that office; but they said they wanted to go and rent an apartment costing about 40 million dollars. ”
“That money can build a mansion at least for about ten years. Parliament agreed that GNPC should go and build their own house but they did their own thing…what GNPC has done is a gross disrespect to the authority of Parliament .The GNPC is trying to say they have no regard for Parliament and they will do their own thing …”Mr. Asiamah complained.
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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @EfeAnsah