Ghana: NPA Boss Praises Finance Minister, BoG Governor For Cedi Stability

The Chief Executive Officer of the National Petroleum Authority, Ghana’s petroleum downstream regulator, Mr. Godwin Kudzo Tameklo Esq., is heaping praises on Ghana’s Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, and Governor of the Central Bank, Dr. Johnson Asiamah, for the raft of forex measures put in place, resulting in the relative stability of the local currency, the cedi, against the US dollar.

According to him, the swift and prudent measures they have adopted in the last few months have contributed to the reduction in fuel prices at the pump. As of February 5, 2025, the average interbank exchange rate for a dollar to cedi was GH¢15.34. However, as at the close of business on May 5, the rate had dropped to GH¢13.68.

The NPA boss said this in an interview with this portal on the sidelines of the Petroleum Hub Development Corporation’s inter-agencies dialogue in Accra recently. “I think I need to thank the Minister of Finance and the Governor of the Bank of Ghana for the work they are doing at the upper end, relating to the stability of the cedi. The fuel market has witnessed relative stability,” he expressed appreciation for their contributions.

Another strategy he mentioned is the auctioning of forex, which helps reduce the cost of buying the product. “And so, if you monitor the market so far, I might say it has been relatively stable, and my prayer is that with one or two interventions we will be bringing onboard, it’s our hope that things become a bit more calm,” Mr. Tameklo assured Ghanaian petroleum consumers.

Touching on another step to reduce the cost of fuel, he disclosed that the government intends to build another Conventional Buoy Mooring (CBM) at the Tema Port to ease fuel traffic at the port and reduce the cost of the products to ordinary Ghanaian consumers.

“I think the Minister has made it clear much earlier that one of the things we are trying to do is also to build a second discharge facility at the port. The whole idea is that we essentially have only one CBM,” he stated. Many vessels spend time waiting at sea at a cost since there is only one discharging facility at the port, adding that a second facility will fix the increasing cost of demurrage.

“What it means is that you can have multiple vessels discharging white products – I mean diesel, petrol, and LPG – at the same time. And usually when that happens, the time for discharge will significantly reduce. It is estimated that we will be doing about $35 million in the course of demurrage. This cost eventually gets passed on to the final consumer,” the NPA boss lamented.

Explaining strategic measures his outfit is putting in place to monitor and control petroleum service providers in the value chain, he said that they have a robust team of inspectors in all regions who monitor the sector to ensure strict compliance and also ensure product quality and availability to consumers at all times.

Source:https://energynewsafrica.com