A thorough approach has been implemented to ensure that criminals or those who are complicit in fuel smuggling in the country are prosecuted, the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) has said.
Last year, the Authority introduced the Digital Retail Fuel Monitoring System, among other things, to solve the problem, according to the NPA.
Fuel smuggling and other illegal activities related to the transportation and effective distribution of petroleum products across Ghana presently cost the country billions of Ghana Cedis.
In an interview with the media, Head of Pricing at the National Petroleum Authority, Abass Ibrahim Tasunti, said taking into account the measures put in place to combat fuel smuggling, he is certain that the distribution system for petroleum products would improve in 2022.
“You are aware that there are several mechanisms the National Petroleum Authority has put in place to address smuggling of petroleum products. One key measure is that we track every Bulk Road Vehicle in this country, and we have a live monitoring electronic cargo tracking system where every track is monitored,” he said.
“Also, we mark petroleum products that are loaded from every depot, so that if, for example, petroleum products that are exported are not marked, and they find their way into filling stations here in Ghana, then the marker concentration in this product will be able to tell that the product meant for export has been adulterated or brought or dumped into stations here in Ghana,” he added.
Mr Ibrahim Tasunti said the mechanisms put in place “are already very efficient, and so what we are going to do is to make sure we enforce them strictly, which we have already started.”
He noted that smuggling, just like any crime, cannot be eliminated entirely, “but we will make sure that we will strictly enforce our regulation mechanism to make sure that it is brought to the barest minimum.”
Monitoring system
In 2021, the National Petroleum Authority established an innovative Digital Retail Fuel Monitoring System on behalf of the government.
The Fuel Monitoring System, which allows NPA to monitor fuel in oil marketing company (OMC) tanks around the country, will help to prevent illegal activities in the petroleum downstream, such as unlawful third-party supplies, bogus receipts and smuggling.
Under this method, any OMC that obtains illegal fuel would be discovered. Despite this, a number of stakeholders have urged the government to do more to combat petroleum smuggling in the country.
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