Ghana’s effort in curbing dirty or adulterated fuel is yielding fruits as the country’s petroleum downstream regulator has revealed a drastic reduction in fuel adulteration in the country.
According to the Chief Executive Officer of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, fuel adulteration at the retail outlet has reduced drastically from 32 per cent in 2013 to 2.51 per cent as of August 2021.
“We are poised to wipe out these 2.51 per cent culprits who are still cheating petroleum consumers. This is why we are here today to tell consumers to report to the NPA anytime there is suspicion of the purchase of contaminated fuel,” he said.
Addressing stakeholders at this year’s Consumer Week Celebration in Ho, the Volta Regional capital, Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid noted that fuel adulteration increases the emission of harmful compounds such as carbon dioxide and volatile organic compounds that affect air quality and the environment.
The NPA’s CEO said the effects go a long way to affect the health of the workforce, harm the reputation of a fuel retailer’s brand and cost the government millions of cedis in revenue annually.
He averred that the petroleum downstream industry has always been about striking the right balance between the industry players, who are petroleum service providers and consumers.
Dr Abdul-Hamid pointed out that, since the industry wants to make a profit, the consumer wants value for their money, hence, none of them must occur at the expense of the other.
“It is for this reason that the regulator (NPA) was established to innovate and adopt strategies to ensure that the industry remains efficient and profitable while the consumers receive value for money,” he said.
He stressed, however, that fuel adulteration is a global problem and in Ghana, it has been a challenge to both the industry and regulators.
According to the Chief Executive, in a bid to tackle the problem of petroleum product adulteration, innovative strategies have been adopted, primarily aimed at improving upon the quality of petroleum products to ensure fuel supplied at final dispensing outlets is of the right quality specification to consumers.
“Among the key strategies are the revision of operating procedures in the importation, exportation, and production of fuels by petroleum service providers (PSPs) and the introduction of Petroleum Product Marking Scheme (PPMS) and Bulk Road Vehicle (BRV) tracking system to ensure that products are devoid of adulteration and meet the required specification along the supply chain.”
He mentioned that as a result of the stringent measures instituted, the retail outlet failure rate has reduced drastically from 32 per cent as of 2013 to 2.51 per cent as of August 2021.
“There are laws that provide punitive sanctions such as fines, imprisonment or both for the perpetrators of these fuel quality crimes,” he warned.
This year’s Consumer Week Celebration was under the theme: ‘Adulterated Fuels: A Menace To The Consumer And The Economy’.
The Volta Regional Minister, Dr Archibald Yao Letsa said the effects of bad fuels are many and that contaminated fuels cause engines to malfunction and come with extra cost to the consumer to restore damaged engines.
Such fuels, he said, also generate toxic fumes that pollute the air and are harmful to the health of the people.
According to him, putting in place such a programme to stem the trend is welcoming news.
He also said that a section of the petroleum industry that indulges in adulteration cheats the consumer out of what they are paying for, harms the reputation of a fuel retailer’s brand and cost the government millions of cedis in revenue each year.
He encouraged all stakeholders not to see the theme as a single duty of the NPA but rather embrace it as a collective responsibility.
The Consumer Week is intended to be observed every year to educate the public on petroleum products used as well as increase the knowledge of the consuming public on the rights and responsibilities.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
