GNPC challenged to prove it has not become slush fund for government

The Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) has been challenged by the

The 2014 Auditor General's report said that:

However, ACEP in a press release signed by the Executive Director, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam said it was "worried about such financial irregularities" and that it "bordered on our fear that GNPC has become a slush fund for the government."

"The GNPC has greater responsibility to prove that it has not become a slush fund for the government as other transactions by the corporations point to that," ACEP said.

ACEP cataloged a series of transactions it says were based on directive by government to advance the "slush fund" claims.

"For example, in 2013, GNPC applied US$31 million of its share of oil revenue to repay a PNB Paribas loan facility, which was incurred at the instance of government in respect of oil lifting since 2009."

"Recently, some Members of Parliament raised issues about GNPC’s use of US$41 million to support crude oil purchase by VRA through a certain Bank in Ghana. Whilst such support might have been relevant to VRA, another profit making corporation, we are concerned about the misalignment of such a transaction with the corporation’s strategic plan."

"We know that this transaction was based on another directive from Government, an obvious confirmation that GNPC indeed has become a slush fund for the government," ACEP said.

According to ACEP, these irregularities have raised disturbing issues about GNPC’s seriousness of growing to become an operator as its strategic plan envisages.