Petroleum funds without local voice: A costly oversight

The Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC)’s call for deeper involvement of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in petroleum-funded projects deserves urgent attention.

It highlights a persistent flaw in Ghana’s development planning, centralised decision-making that often overlooks local realities.

Across the country, too many projects are conceived in Accra but executed in communities with little input from those who understand their needs best.

The result, as PIAC’s inspection in the Adansi area of the Ashanti Region reveals, is a mixed bag of outcomes, some encouraging and others deeply worrying.

There is no denying that petroleum funds have the potential to transform lives.

The upgraded road linking Kyiaboso to Akrokeri is a case in point. But such successes are undermined when resources are channelled into projects that lack long-term value.

Pothole patching on the Adansi Asokwa-Obuasi road, for example, raises legitimate concerns about whether scarce oil revenues are being used prudently.

More troubling are the gaps in essential infrastructure.

A police station without its own water supply. A school building lacking furniture, washrooms and electricity.

A health facility with a poorly designed staff bungalow. These are not minor oversights, they point to a deeper problem in how projects are planned and executed.

PIAC attributes these shortcomings to the exclusion of local authorities from the decision-making process.

When assemblies are sidelined, projects risk missing the mark.

Local leaders are best placed to identify priority needs, yet they are often left out until implementation if they are involved at all.

This disconnect also weakens accountability. It is alarming that some assemblies are unaware that projects in their areas are funded by petroleum revenues.

In other cases, such projects are mistakenly seen as initiatives of Members of Parliament.

This confusion not only distorts public perception but also makes it difficult to track responsibility when things go wrong.

Ghana’s Constitution is clear that the nation’s natural resources must benefit all citizens. Yet, as these findings suggest, weak coordination and oversight continue to undermine that goal.

The way forward is not complicated, but it requires commitment.

Government must move beyond a top-down approach and embrace genuine decentralisation.

MMDAs should be involved at every stage, planning, implementation and monitoring.

Their participation is essential to ensure that projects are relevant, properly executed and maintained over time.

Stronger collaboration between the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Local Government, as PIAC recommends, is a step in the right direction. But it must translate into concrete action on the ground.

Transparency is equally critical. Communities must know which projects are funded with petroleum revenues, how much is allocated and what outcomes are expected. An informed public is better equipped to demand accountability.

PIAC has sounded the alarm. Government must now act decisively, empower local authorities, strengthen oversight and ensure that every petroleum-funded project delivers real value. The time for business as usual has long passed.

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