Ghana: NPA Says 93% Of Fuel Tankers Now Licensed After Audit Concerns

Ghana’s National Petroleum Authority (NPA) says about 93% of the more than 4,000 bulk road vehicles used to transport petroleum products have now been licensed, following concerns raised in the 2025 Auditor-General’s Report.

NPA Chief Executive Godwin Edudzi Tameklo disclosed this when he appeared before Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to respond to issues raised in the report about the authority’s operations.

The report questioned why the regulator had licensed only 2,514 trucks out of more than 4,000 bulk road vehicles (BRVs), commonly known as fuel tankers, while allowing the others to distribute petroleum products.

Tameklo said licensing enabled the authority to monitor and track the vehicles on the road. However, he said strict enforcement had to be balanced against the need to prevent fuel shortages.

Ghana has nearly 5,000 petroleum retail outlets but just over 4,000 BRVs, he told the committee.

“What we’ve done prior to this audit is to ensure a balancing act – whilst ensuring regulation, how do we also ensure that petroleum products ultimately get to people?” he said.

Tameklo said enforcing compliance was easier in Accra than elsewhere, but the authority could still track the movement of petroleum products through freight cost claims.

Following the concerns raised in the audit report, the NPA took steps to license the remaining trucks, bringing the proportion licensed to 93%, he said.

He added that the remaining 7% had been taken off the road and their owners had been asked to take steps to obtain licences.

A representative of the Auditor-General told the committee that the NPA had reported the 93% figure, but the auditors had yet to verify it.

PAC Chairperson Abena Osei-Asare welcomed the reported progress, saying the audit should lead to corrective action.

“The audit must lead to action,” she said.