The Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors, Senyo Hosi, says his outfit is undertaking a self-assessment exercise to help reduce diversion of fuel in the petroleum industry.
According to him, it is important for all stakeholders in the sector to help government expose corrupt acts in the downstream sector that is costing government billions of cedis.
Speaking at the launch of the Petroleum Product Marking Scheme, aimed at checking fuel diversion and adulteration, Mr. Hosi warned that the country will continue to lose billions of cedis if perpetrators are not punished.
He pointed out that all stakeholders in the oil and gas industry must show commitment to help end illegal activities that cause the nation to lose huge amount of money.
“We have the people to fight this war, and we must win. 2.6 billion cedis being lost between 2015 and 2017 is just too much” he lamented.
He said funds that could have gone to government for national development was diverted for the benefits of individuals.
“Ghana has many problems, and we could have used this resources to solve those problems. There are many people counting on us to turn their lives around. We must win this war,” he said.
Government has expressed optimism that the diversion and stealing of subsidized fuel will be greatly reduced with the introduction of a new monitoring system known as the Petroleum Product Marking Scheme.
The system uses a special marker to trace quantities of petroleum products at all operational depots in the country prior to distribution to the market.
According to the National Petroleum Authority, NPA, the Petroleum Product Marking Scheme will have a marker that will help to distinguish the various types of petroleum products and expose dilution of products in the country.
Demonstrating how the scheme works, the NPA explained that the marker works by testing samples of petroleum products at all retail outlets and bulk consumers across the country with proprietary analytical devices which detect additions.
