Ghana’s petroleum downstream regulator, National Petroleum Authority (NPA) has been given the prosecutorial powers by the Attorney General to prosecute crimes in the oil and gas supply chain in the country.
The regulator obtained an Executive Instrument (EI) 378, in 2020, to ensure the successful prosecution of cases in the petroleum downstream industry and stem the tide of criminal acts in the sector.
The Legal Manager at the Legal Directorate of NPA, Ms Farida Ali-Musah, revealed this during a media engagement in Cape Coast.
She explained that, hitherto, the NPA relied on the Attorney General and the police for the prosecution of cases.
Ms. Ali-Musah said some of the cases were thrown out of the courts for lack of prosecution.
Besides, she said since the establishment of NPA in 2005 by Act 691, the industry had witnessed great evolution.
Therefore, she said the Authority needed to have the prosecutorial powers to enhance its regulatory mandate.
Ms. Ali-Musah mentioned operating without NPA certified licence, misapplication of the prescribed petroleum pricing formula and tampering with Bulk Road Vehicle (BRV) tracking and volume monitoring as some of the crimes that would be prosecuted.
Others are false statements and withholding of material information, obstruction or interference with investigation and selling unmarked fuel.
Some of the crimes would attract sentences between five and 10 years.
Ms. Ali-Musah said the NPA had started stakeholder consultations to pave the way for the start of the prosecution process.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com