The Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) has urged journalists to use their editorial platforms to promote transparency and accountability in the management and use of petroleum revenues.
The Chair of PIAC, Emerita Professor Elizabeth Ardayfio-Schandorf, was speaking at a media engagement on the management and use of petroleum revenues in the country at Prampram in the Ningo Prampram District in the Greater Accra Region on Tuesday (20th August, 2024).
It formed part of an outreach programme and community engagement by PIAC in the area.
The participants were briefed on matters related to the operations of PIAC and its interventions in the district, as well as how the committee could collaborate with the media going forward.
Present were some PIAC members, including a representative of independent policy research think thanks, Clara Beeri Kasser-Tee; a representative of Muslim Groups, Dr Ibrahim Lartey, and a representative of the National House of Chiefs on the Committee, Odeefuo Amoakwa Boadu VIII.
Oversight
As established under Section 51 of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act (PRMA), PIAC, Prof. Ardayfio-Schandorf said, served as a unique citizen-led statutory body tasked with additional public oversight responsibility to support the work of Parliament over the collection, allocation and utilisation of petroleum revenues.
She said PIAC’s roles included oversight and monitoring, accountability, advocacy, public engagement and policy recommendations, adding that the committee was mandated to publish two reports annually—an annual report and a semi-annual report based on the collection, collation, reconciliation and analysis of production and revenue data from relevant stakeholder institutions.
Touching on the role of the media to enhance accountability in the management of petroleum revenues, Prof Ardayfio-Schandorf called on journalists to engage more closely with PIAC to report on the committee’s findings and recommendations to keep the public informed and also hold public officials accountable.
SOURCE: GRAPHIC BUSINESS