Oil revenue will no longer fund air tickets, conferences – Finance Minister

Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, says the government will no longer use petroleum revenues to finance air travel, conferences, and other recurrent expenditure.

Speaking at the Ishmael Yamson & Associates Business Roundtable on Thursday, Dr. Forson said the Mahama administration had introduced reforms to ensure that oil revenues are directed strictly toward major infrastructure development.

“In the past, the oil revenue accrued to the budget was shared so thinly. We used to use some to buy newspapers. We used to use some to buy air tickets,” he stated.

According to the Finance Minister, the government has amended the policy governing the use of petroleum revenues to prioritise what he described as “big ticket infrastructure” projects.

“We’ve said that use Ghana’s oil revenue only for infrastructure use. Big ticket infrastructure,” Dr. Forson said.

He explained that the decision formed part of the government’s Big Push agenda, which seeks to accelerate infrastructure development, especially in the road sector.

“Last year, we introduced the Big Push. The focus of the Big Push is to ensure that our infrastructure receives attention,” he noted.

Dr. Forson disclosed that the government had earmarked about GH¢4.5 billion for road infrastructure in this year’s budget, with a major portion expected to support projects such as the proposed Accra-Kumasi Expressway.

He argued that spreading oil revenues across administrative activities and travel expenses had weakened the country’s ability to undertake transformational infrastructure projects.

“But in the past, we were spreading these resources so thinly to buy etiquette and some capacity building. People travel to Dubai for conferences and all. That is not prudent spending of taxpayers’ money,” he said.

The Finance Minister added that the government was also redirecting mineral royalties toward infrastructure financing after reviewing how those funds were previously managed.

“And so all of that, we’ve stopped it, and we are targeting major infrastructure,” Dr. Forson stressed.

He further indicated that the government intends to sustain the policy over the next few years in order to complete strategic national projects without excessive borrowing.

“After 2027, we’ll target another project. And gradually, we’ll build the country going into the future,” he added.