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Government must, as a matter of urgency, conduct a forensic audit into projects funded with proceeds from petroleum resources to ensure value for money, the Public Interest Accountability Committee has demanded.

The demand by PIAC comes after a visit by its members to some projects funded from oil revenue showed that the projects were non-existent although monies have been disbursed for them.

Speaking to journalists during the tour in the Eastern Region, a member of PIAC, Dr. Steve Manteaw, said PIAC has often uncovered instances of misapplication of oil revenues.

“PIAC has, on several occasions, raised the issue about poorly executed oil funded projects…The time has come for government to do a forensic audit of oil funded projects in this country and to bring to book anybody who has abused our common heritage, which is a revenue derived from this extraction of resource.

I think if we do that it will serve as a deterrent for anybody who will be tempted to abuse the oil revenue because he thinks there will not be any consequences for his actions,” Dr. Manteaw said.

According to Dr. Manteaw, although PIAC has been able to establish that certain projects supposed to be funded with oil money were not undertaken, it is not clothed with the power to investigate and to subpoena.

“Meanwhile, there are institutions of state that have the proper power to invite people to come before them and then to answer questions on certain things. If PIAC was clothed with that mandate, we would have done that.

I’m calling on government to set in motion those institutions to begin working on the revelations arising from PIAC’s work to ensure that there is proper accountability for the revenues that are derived from the oil sector,” he said.