The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, has appealed to stakeholders in the petroleum sector to support the authority stop the smuggling of petroleum products.
He said though NPA had taken steps to check smuggling of petroleum products, it could not succeed without the assistance of stakeholders.
Dr Abdul-Hamid made the call at a press briefing in Tamale after touring facilities of the NPA in the Northern Region on Wednesday.
He said the NPA was ready to address challenges affecting the petroleum sector to enhance operations and serve the people better.
The visit of CEO and directors formed a nation-wide tour of NPA facilities, including storage and deposition sites and offices.
The tour was also to enable the management of NPA assess its facilities and take measures to protect its properties.
Dr Abdul-Hamid called on the Northern Regional Police Commander, COP Timothy Yoosa Bonga to seek collaboration from the police to ensure the safety of NPA installations.
He said the price of stabilisation levy was introduced in 2016 to subsidise the price of premix fuel (used by Fisher folks), residuals fuel used by industries and cushion consumers.
The Director of Policy Co-ordination, Mr Jacob Amuah, NPA, said that the introduction of the Bulk Road Vehicle Tracking Scheme was to help the NPA to effectively monitor the distribution of petroleum products in the country.
The Director of Gas at NPA, Akua Ntiwaa Kwaakye, mentioned that the authority was currently conducting impact assessment on cylinders in six regions.
She said the authority started a pilot project in six regions, but encountered setbacks “in the area of the turnaround rate of the cylinders and the lack of bottling plants across the country.”
The pilot project, Ms Kwaakye said, was to test the end-user to ensure that consumers understood the value chain process.
Responding to questions on growing concerns of Ghanaians on fuel price hikes in Tamale, Head of Pricing of NPA, Abass Ibrahim Tasunti, asked to bear the deregulated pricing of petrol and diesel, saying that government could not subsidise fuel.
He said the NPA advised the government to remove the levy for November and December 2021, explaining that the levy has a purpose and there was a limit to that purpose.
FROM YAKUBU ABDUL-MAJEED, TAMALE
