The reconstituted board of the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) was inaugurated in Accra yesterday with a call on them to work hard to promote the oversight role in monitoring and evaluating how the government manages and utilises petroleum revenues.
The five members of the board are Mr Bashiru Abdul-Razak, Mr Nasir Alfa Mohammed, Professor Kwame Adom-Frimpong, Mrs Clara BeeriKasser-tee and Odeefuo Amankwa Buadu VII.
At a short inaugural ceremony, the Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr John Ampontuah Kumah, who led the board members to swear the oath of office and secrecy, said the induction of the high board was in accordance with the Petroleum Revenue Management Act 2011 (Act 814).
He commended PIAC for its effective oversight role which had impacted positively on the management and use of petroleum revenues in Ghana.
Dr Kumah reiterated the government`s and the Ministry’s commitment to ensuring that the board was well resourced to play its oversight role, as an institution mandated to promote transparency and accountability, in the management of petroleum revenue in Ghana.
“On our part as Ministry of Finance, our doors remained opened to PIAC for engagement and collaboration whiles still expecting PIAC’s independent as enshrined in the act,” he stated.
He thanked the outgoing board for a good work done and urged the members of the incoming board to work as a team, and bring to bear their experiences, ideas and innovation in ensuring accountability and transparency in the management of oil revenues in the country.
“I wish to remind you that your appointment is a call to public service and I am confident that you justify the trust that your nominating institutions, the government and the people of Ghana have reposed in your diverse expertise and capacity by executing your statutory mandate to ensure that citizens benefit from the exploitation of petroleum resources,” Dr Kumah stated.
Prof. Adom-Frimpong, a member of the PIAC Board, on behalf of his colleagues thanked the Deputy Minister for the honour and the confidence reposed in them.
He assured government of the board’s commitment to uphold the tenets and spirit of the mandate reposed on them.
“We promise to work together in accordance with the law and plead with the Ministry to co-operate with us and take actions on any recommendations we bring forth to help build the country,” he stated.
He further assured Ghanaians that the board would ensure that the exploitation of petroleum resources ultimately benefited the citizens, through accountability and transparency.
BY VIVIAN ARTHUR
