Use a share of the proceeds from crude oil to provide Ghanaians with free basic healthcare

Use a share of the proceeds from crude oil to provide Ghanaians with free basic healthcare – Project Consultant

Project Consultant Mr. Mark Agyemang has proposed that the government provide free primary healthcare for the underprivileged and vulnerable members of society using a percentage of the proceeds from mining and crude oil sales.

“The government might consider introducing similar intervention for the health sector for the poor and vulnerable,” he added. “Just as it is sponsoring Free Senior High School using proceeds from crude oil to promote education in the nation.

On the fringes of a meeting between the Ministry of Finance and the non-governmental organization Friends of the Nation (FON) to address concerns pertaining to the extractive industry in Accra, Mr. Agyemang made the call.

In order to make the Petroleum Revenue Management Act (PRMA) more pro-poor, he presented suggestions that should be taken into account.

The FoN contacted the Ministry with ideas for the PRMA amendment together with a few royal moms from the Western Region.

This comes after the NGO traveled the nation to keep an eye on several projects and programs that were being funded with money from the sale of petroleum.

Mr. Agyemang, who served as the Lead Project Consultant for the PRMA’s planned review, said that social, health, and educational services should be fairly funded for the benefit of all residents, particularly the weak and the destitute.

He also demanded that oil earnings be distributed to the agriculture sector in a better and more focused manner.

To advance the industry, Mr. Agyemang suggested connecting all highways funded by petroleum earnings to centers of agricultural output.

Agriculture is a top priority for the growth of the economy, but Mr. Agyemang said that the majority of investments in the sector were not directed towards increasing agricultural output.

Mr. Agyemang urged the Finance Ministry to examine projects and perform an effect study of how oil earnings have been used over the last five years.

According to him, doing so would enable the government to better identify the areas where investments were producing the required dividends and those where the payout process needed to be reviewed.

The Ministry was requested by Nana Akosua Gyamfiaba, the acting queen mother of the Shama Traditional Area, to build agro-processing facilities for women farmers.

We urged the Ministry to provide fishmongers in the Region access to cold storage facilities, she said.

The Acting Queenmother urged the Ministry to provide women farmers low-interest loans so they may increase their output.

The NGO, the Project Consultant, and other important stakeholders’ concerns will be taken into account while assessing the PRMA, according to Mr. Joseph Sarpong, Head of Energy and Petroleum Unit at the Finance Ministry.

According to Mr. Sarpong, the Ministry has already started incorporating some of the ideas into the evaluation process.

The PRMA was adopted in 2011 and updated the following year.

However, in order to start amending the Act to achieve current objectives, the Ministry of Finance established a Review Committee in 2019.