FACT-CHECK: Okudzeto Ablakwa claims gov’t has received $1.4 billion from oil production

Claim: Government has received $1.4 billion from oil production

Source: Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa

Verdict: TRUE

Researched by Gifty Tracy Aminu

The Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has claimed that the current government has received $1.4 billion from the commercial production and export of oil.

“I was reading the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) report a few days ago submitted to Parliament. This government is the most blessed in history. According to PIAC, they receive $1.4 billion as per our oil receipts,” he said on Radio Gold on July 10, 2023. (Between 3:06:41 – 3:06:52)

This fact-check report will seek to verify the claim.

What is PIAC?

The Public Interest and Accountability Committee(PIAC) was inaugurated and commenced work on September 15, 2011, with a mandate to monitor, evaluate, and independently assess government and institutional compliance with Act 815 as amended and engage the public on the management and use of petroleum revenue to safeguard the public interest.

So far, the committee has published eighteen (18) reports (Nine Annual and Nine Semi-annual Reports).

Fact-Check

In fact-checking the claim, GhanaFact will reference the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) report published in the first quarter of 2023.

The 2023 report, “Annual Report on the Management and Use of Petroleum Revenues,” featured the revenue generated from January to December 2022 from oil production.

The report highlighted that “total petroleum revenue in 2022 is the highest for a single year since the inception of petroleum production in Ghana with a figure of US$1.43 billion.”

“At the close of the year 2021, there was undistributed petroleum receipts of US$15,113,467.000 brought forward to 2022, thereby bringing the total amount available for distribution from the PHF to US$1,443,709,456.24,” the PIAC report explained.

Verdict

The claim is rated TRUE.