Petroleum Resource Management for Sustainable Development in Ghana: Will the Petroleum Revenue Management Legal Regime Avoid the Resource Curse?

This thesis is based on an investigation of the legal aspects of the management of petroleum revenue in Ghana in order to promote sustainability and thereby avoid the replication of the resource curse syndrome. The Parliament passed the laws for the regulation and management of petroleum revenue, the Petroleum Revenue Management Act (PRMA) 2011 and Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act 2016. The thesis argues that the current state of the law, and regulatory environment have far-reaching impacts on the promotion of transparency, accountability and sustainability in the socially beneficial management of petroleum revenue. Some inherent challenges that may inhibit the management of petroleum revenue include possible non-prosecution of mismanagement of oil revenue because of the powers of the Attorney General to exercise nolle prosequi. There have also been considerable infractions such as not fulfilling auditing and reporting requirements, non-remission of revenues into the appropriate funds or accounts, and failure of sufficient engagement in impactful investments in priority areas stipulated in the PRMA.
The research further analyses how the best practices as contained in the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative standards and Generally Accepted Principles and Practices for Sovereign Wealth Funds can be adapted in implementing the PRMA. It recommends the establishment of the Ghana Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative as a corporate body with powers to promote transparency in petroleum revenue. It further proposes the establishment of the Sovereign Wealth Fund as a specialised corporate entity to manage the funds. It recommends the earmarking of certain percentage of petroleum revenue for the promotion of developmental projects in host communities. It concludes that there is a need to strengthen the legal regime for the management of petroleum revenue through enabling environment for sustainability, transparency and accountability and checking against infractions in the legal regime in order to avoid the resource curse.