Motorists in the Republic of Ghana have been advised to desist from patronising petroleum products that are sold at unapproved places like table tops along the road.
According to the petroleum downstream regulator, the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), such products, which are mostly smuggled into the country through unauthorised routes, mainly from Togo, are adulterated and can damage their vehicles.
The petroleum products are filled in gallons and conveyed mostly on motorbikes to their Ghanaian customers, who, in turn, fill the fuel in bottles for onward sale on table tops.
The Volta Regional Manager of NPA, Mr Godwin Yaw Konu, who made the call at a media engagement in Ho, last Friday, said the NPA could not guarantee the quality of such petroleum products.
Therefore, he said that in case of damage to vehicles as a result of the use of such unapproved products, the NPA could not help the affected motorists to seek redress.
He urged motorists to buy petroleum products only from approved retail outlets.
As a proactive step, Mr Konu indicated that the NPA had, in collaboration with the security agencies, embarked upon swoops in the Ketu South and Ketu North constituencies in the Volta Region and arrested some of the smugglers.
Besides, he said a delegation from the NPA, led by a Deputy Chief Executive, had visited Togo and held discussions with the authorities responsible for petroleum products and security to agree on a collaborative effort to confront the smuggling of petroleum products to Ghana.
The media engagement organised by the Communications Department was to highlight the NPA’s activities in the petroleum downstream industry and respond to industry-related questions from the media.
In his presentation, the Head of Planning of NPA, Mr Dominic Aboagye said 80 per cent of the country’s fuel consumption was dependent on import.
He said local refining of crude oil by Akwaaba Oil Refinery and the Platon Refinery were supporting the local market and indicated the completion of the Sentuo Refinery, also a privately owned company, which would generate about 100,000 metric tonnes of fuel per day at full capacity, would greatly reduce the country’s dependency on imports.
In a welcome address on behalf of the NPA Chief Executive, Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, the Director of Economic Regulation and Planning, Mrs. Alpha Welbeck said the focus of this year’s education was on the security of the supply of petroleum products and the requirements for siting filling stations.
In her remarks, the Director of Corporate Affairs of NPA, Mrs. Maria Edith Oquaye urged the media to get in touch with the Authority for information and clarification on issues related to the petroleum downstream petroleum industry to provide accurate information to the public.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com