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A member of Communications Team of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Bernard Anim Piesie, has questioned why the Heritage Fund is not being utilised to construct more educational facilities in the face of inadequate infrastructure, especially at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).

The management of KNUST on Wednesday, August 15, 2018, announced that, with effect from the 2018/19 academic year, six all-male and all-female halls of residence of the University, would be converted into mixed halls.

The school had earlier converted the two all-male halls; University and Unity Halls to mixed halls; a move which was strongly opposed.

However in a latest event, the school authorities have decided to change all six halls into a mixed one.

Management said the decision is “in line with the university’s policy of periodic review of residential accommodation for students.”

Speaking to the issue during a panel discussion on Monday’s edition of Peace FM morning show ‘Kokrokoo’, Anim Piesie said had there been adequate infrastructure, the university authorities would not have insisted on changing tradition.

He wondered what purpose the Heritage Fund is serving if it cannot be spent on educational infrastructure when the need arises. 

“There is infrastructure deficit but we have a heritage fund so I will suggest we use the money to build infrastructure. It is possible…, why can't we use the Heritage Fund ” he added.

To Use Or Not To Use?

The Ghana Heritage Fund (GHF) is a strategic endowment reserve created under the Petroleum Revenue Management Act (PRMA) (Act 815), 2011, to set aside a portion of petroleum revenue for the benefit of future generations when Ghana’s petroleum reserves have been depleted.

The GHF is fashioned largely on the Norwegian-type sovereign fund model.

It takes about nine per cent of the annual total petroleum revenue and is largely invested in financial instruments abroad.

Section 10 of the PRM Act 815 states that,

"A Ghana Heritage Fund is hereby established. (2) The object the Ghana Heritage Fund is to (a) provide an endowment to support development for future generations when petroleum reserves have been depleted; and

(b) receive excess petroleum revenue. (3) The Ghana Heritage Fund shall receive from the Petroleum Holding Fund a percentage petroleum revenue which be determined by Parliament as savings for the purpose of this Act."

The debate on whether to save the GHF as originally envisaged or spend it, resurfaces every now and again. In 2017, when the government was struggling to balance the budget in the face of depressed oil prices, which had dented revenue, the idea of using part of the GHF to fund the budget was mooted in official circles.

The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) indicated that it would use the Heritage Fund, which is one of three funds created by the Petroleum Revenue Management Act (815), to fund its flagship free SHS programme.