The Ghana National Petroleum Authority (NPA) has sent a clarion call to Ghanaians to join the fight against adulterated fuels with great zeal and patriotism, saying the trend was a threat to the health and economy of the nation.
The Chief Executive Officer, Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, pointed out that the evil practice which increased the emission of harmful compounds, deprived fuel consumers of value for their money, in addition to causing damage to engines of vehicles and machinery, was costing the government millions of cedis in revenue each year.
Therefore Dr Abdul-Hamid said that all hands were needed on deck to reverse the trend.
He was speaking at a durbar to cap the NPA’s weeklong Consumer Week celebration in Ho yesterday.
The event was under the theme: Adulterated fuels; a menace to the consumer and the economy.
Dr Abdul-Hamid said that the NPA had instituted some innovative strategies to stop fuel adulteration, adding that they included the revision of procedures in the importation, exportation and production of fuels by the Petroleum Service Providers.
The strategies, he said, also included the introduction of Petroleum Product Marketing Scheme and Bulk Road Vehicle tracking system to ensure that fuel products were devoid of adulteration and met the required specification along the supply chain.
Meanwhile, the CEO of NPA disclosed that as a result of the stringent measures instituted, the retail outlet failure rate had fallen from 32 percent in 2013 to 2.51 as at August, 2021.
“We are poised to wipe out the 2.51 percent culprits who are still cheating petroleum consumers,” he affirmed.
For that matter, Dr Abdul-Hamid, entreated law-abiding members of the public to report miscreants in the fuel industry to the appropriate authorities promptly.
Earlier, Dr Archibald Yao Letsa, Volta Regional Minister, warned that the region which was the most environmentally friendly area in the country would not overlook the menace of fuel adulteration.
The Minister of Energy, Dr Mathew OpokuPrempeh, expressed similar sentiments in a speech read on his behalf.
Mr KwakuAgyemang-Duah, Chief Executive of the Association of Oil Marketing Companies, said that all the 4, 223 fuel stations in the country were regulated by the NPA.
FROM ALBERTO MARIO NORETTI, HO
