Criminalising and Punishing Non-Compliance with Petroleum Revenue Laws in Africa: Ghana's Experience with Non-Compliance

Abstract

The discovery of oil in commercial quantities in Ghana in 2007 came with the hope of an economic boom and infrastructure development. The parliament of Ghana passed the Petroleum Revenue Management Act (Act 815) in 2011 and subsequently amended parts to address new concerns. The law does not only identify all the sources of revenue that should accrue to the Government of Ghana, but it also sets out which state institution is responsible for the assessment and collection of revenue, how revenue allocation should be made, and what it should be used for. The Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) established under the law to monitor statutory compliance with the collection, disbursement, and use of all petroleum revenues has raised issues of non-compliance with statutory provisions by state institutions and government officials since 2011. The implications of non-compliance with Petroleum Revenue Management Statutes cannot be overstated. This article, which is generally descriptive and interspersed with some textual analyses, proposes criminalising all breaches of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act with deterrent sanctions.