Ghana: NPA Chief Pledges To address Tanker Drivers’ Working Conditions

Ghana’s National Petroleum Authority (NPA) chief executive, Godwin Kudzo Tameklo, has pledged to address concerns over tanker drivers’ working conditions and welfare following a series of strikes that have since been suspended.

Tameklo gave the assurance during an emergency meeting with members of the Ghana National Petroleum Tankers Drivers Union (GNPTDU) at the NPA’s headquarters in Accra on Wednesday.

The drivers’ grievances include the poor condition of the Tema Oil Refinery–Kpone Road, the deteriorating state of the BOST parking yard, oil loss control and allowances for drivers working long hours on rough roads.

Tameklo said the authority would work with relevant institutions to resolve the issues, adding that the Ghana Standards Authority had been brought in to provide an independent assessment of the oil loss concerns.

“We are doing all we can to get BOST to agree on these reforms because thankfully when this issue came up, we got a neutral person, which is the Ghana Standards Authority, to stand on the matter and give an unbiased report,” he said.

“Let me assure you that the Authority will do everything possible to get to the bottom of this issue, because it is an industry old matter, so it is something that we will take up to look at how to resolve it.”

On the TOR–Kpone Road, Tameklo said he was pushing for its inclusion in the government’s “Big Push” programme.

He said options discussed for repairing the road included contributions from companies operating in the area and funding through the programme.

“I want to assure you that, I am pushing strongly for the road to be placed under the ‘Big Push’ project, it is of major concern to us, because we have done so much in the downstream industry but this road deducts our mark,” he said.

The union’s national chairman, George Nyaunu, apologised for failing to notify the NPA before the strike and thanked the regulator for meeting the drivers.

“We want to apologise for not informing you ahead of time of our intended strike because we knew if we had told you, you’ll convince us not to go ahead with it,” Nyaunu said.

“There was no mention of NPA, we only wanted to let our concerns be heard.”

He expressed hope that the discussions would lead to solutions.

“We want to thank you for offering a listening ear to all our issues and hopefully solutions can be found to these matters.”