Ghana Heritage Fund (GHF) has crossed a landmark legal threshold this year, with the 15-year lock period enshrined in the Petroleum Revenue Management Act (PRMA) now elapsed, meaning Parliament can, for the first time, authorise the withdrawal of accrued investment returns from the fund.
The PRMA restricts withdrawals from the Heritage Fund, with the principal unable to be drawn upon for at least the first 15 years from the fund’s establishment through 2026, after which withdrawals are limited to a maximum of the accrued returns.
The Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC), in its 2025 Annual Report released in Accra on April 8, confirmed that the Ghana Heritage Fund grew to US$1.3 billion in 2025. The fund has been accumulating since 2011, receiving nine percent of annual petroleum receipts and reinvesting the returns.
The PRMA already allows for the withdrawal of a portion of accrued interest after 15 years, that is from 2026, subject to parliamentary approval. That window has now opened. What Parliament and the Ministry of Finance choose to do with it — and whether they do so transparently is now a live governance question.
PIAC has consistently warned against accessing the Heritage Fund’s principal for recurrent spending, but the committee has also called for a clear national strategy on how the interest returns should be deployed as production declines and direct oil revenues shrink. PIAC calls on the government to safeguard the interests of future generations in line with the objects for the establishment of the Ghana Heritage Fund, and proposes a holistic approach to amending the Act instead of a piecemeal approach.
The timing matters. Total petroleum receipts for 2025 fell to US$770.27 million, a 43.27 percent decrease compared to US$1.36 billion recorded in 2024. With production in its sixth consecutive year of decline, the Heritage Fund’s investment returns may increasingly represent one of the few growing sources of petroleum-linked income available to Ghana.
No parliamentary motion on the matter has yet been filed publicly.