Ghana: COPEC Warns Of Fuel Shortages If GCNET/UNIPASS Issue Is Not Resolved Immediately

The Chamber of Petroleum Consumers-Ghana, a petroleum advocacy group in the Republic of Ghana, is urging the government to ensure speedy resolution of the ongoing challenges in respect of the migration of GCNet platform to UNIPASS to avoid fuel shortages in the country.

According to COPEC, Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) and the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketing Companies (LPGMCs) that had orders for supply of fuel to various outlets could not load a single litre of fuel all day on Wednesday due to the discrepancies in the migration onto the new customs system (UNIPASS) at the depots.

“This situation, if left unresolved within the next 24 hours, could and will certainly lead to serious fuel shortages across the country,” a statement signed by Executive Secretary of COPEC, Duncan Amoah said.

The UNIPASS/ICUMS platform is a new port clearing system that processes documents and payments through one window: a departure from the previous system where valuation and classification and risk management and payment were handled by different entities.

Below is COPEC’s full statement

RESOLVE THE GCNET/UNIPASS ISSUE IMMEDIATELY TO CURTAIL ANY FUEL SHORTAGES ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

The ongoing challenges in respect of revenue settlement following from a decision to migrate onto a new platform ( UNIPASS ) from the existing GCNet platform is leading to a lot of challenges with petroleum liftings across depots in the country.

Oil Marketing Companies ( OMCs ) and the Liquified Petroleum Gas Marketing Companies ( LPGMCs ) that had orders for supply of fuel to various outlets could not load a single litre of fuel all day on Wednesday the 29th of April due to discrepancies in the migration onto the new customs system ( UNIPASS ) at the depots.

A communique issued earlier yesterday from the NPA indicating a swift response to resolve the issue to enable the liftings seemed not to have yielded as most Oil Marketing Companies and the LPGMCs had to make alternative arrangements to accommodate their drivers who had been dispatched to load products from the depots across the country.

This situation if left unresolved within the next 24 hours could and will certainly lead to serious fuel shortages across the country.

One would expect that the new system would have been rolled out gradually side by side with the old system in order to help in facilitating a gradual phasing out of the existing system ( GCNet ) but the seeming haste in abandoning the old system whiles the new system ( UNIPASS) is not fully ready and integrated is clearly leading to discrepancies being witnessed and we wish for a speedy resolution to forestall any possible shortages across the country.

Our attention has further been drawn to the cutting of staff numbers by some of our Oil Companies due to the adverse effects of Coronavirus on volumes and revenues through a lot of others have refused to lay off.

In light of the above, we call on the State to ensure the various Oil and Gas Companies are not left out in the announced SME support as a lot are reeling heavily under the harsh effects of our 3 weeks lockdown and subsequent low volumes and revenues which can increase job losses and redundancy within the country.

We further call on the Regulator of the downstream ( NPA ) to also work out a mechanism to ease down on the heavy license renewal fees charged to these companies to enable them to adjust to the vagaries of the Coronavirus outbreak on their businesses with the view to ensuring they keep fuel prices lower for Ghanaians without the tendency to increase or collect their full margins which can only lead to increases in pump prices.

Finally, we will like to reiterate an earlier call on the Ghana Revenue Authority to give a moratorium for the next 6 months to Oil Companies instead of the current one spanning up to end of July to file their returns later than the current 45 days since sales volumes across the board has reduced significantly and any attempts to enforce the earlier 21 or 45-day collections could only mean going to the banks to borrow which eventually places undue pressures on them to engage in all manner of games to survive.

Signed

Duncan Amoah

Executive Secretary