Don't Dip Your Hand In The Heritage Fund - Atik Mohammed Cautions

Senior Minister, Dr. Yaw Osafo Maafo, earlier this week, hinted that the Government of Ghana will review the Heritage Fund Component in the Petroleum Management Act and utilize some of the proceeds to finance its Free Senior High School (SHS) policy. Mr. Osafo Maafo made the revelation in an interview with Joy Business, indicating that the government would explore different ways of generating revenue not to overburden the tax payer. Addressing the issue on Peace FM's Kokrokoo, Atik Mohammed, General Secretary of the People's National Convention (PNC), has advised the government not to touch the Heritage Fund. He explained that there are several avenues to use to fund the project without necessarily scooping the Heritage Fund to facilitate it. He noted that, if care is not taken, the Heritage Fund will be depleted and future generations will be adversely affected by government's decision today. “We don’t need to dip our hand into that fund called Heritage Fund. In the place, we must ask ourselves what is the essence of the Heritage Fund. It’s because of the future generations. It means you should be able to profit from the resources that you have in a manner that it won’t decay, so that the future generation can profit from it. And because we know that this resource is depletable, that’s why Ghana or the country thinks we must put something down to make up for the future when the resources finish.” Atik Mohammed explained that the government can use the oil revenues and also solicit corporate agencies to fund the project. He also asked the essence of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation's (GNPC) financial support to the Black Stars. According to him, the monies that GNPC gives to the Black Stars should be channeled to fund the free SHS policy. “They should stop giving money to the Black Stars. They should stop such nonsense and use that money to help free education. The whopping sums that they give to the Black Stars, it doesn’t make sense to me...We should spare the Heritage Fund and yet (we can still), I am very optimistic that if we reprioritize and look carefully, we can still fund free education with oil proceeds.”

Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana