The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) is unhappy about undue public criticism it receives when there is shortage of petroleum products, particularly Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) on the market.

The regulator of the petroleum industry is dissatisfied about concerns raised by the general public each time prices of fuel are increased.

Speaking at the launch of the Consumer Service Week, Alex Mould, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), NPA, noted “Our duty is to license the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) and the bulk storage companies to import crude oil…but anytime there is shortage of fuel especially LPG, the NPA is blamed. It is not fair.”

He challenged consumers to fight for their rights by ensuring that transportation prices do not exceed five percent when domestic fuel price goes up by 20 percent.

With regard to steps taken by NPA to address the shortage of fuel especially LPG, Mr. Mould pointed out that his outfit has put in place measures to ensure that there is adequate LPG in circulation, saying TOR presently produces 200 of 1,000 metric tonnes of LPG consumed in Ghana while there were tankers ready to provide support to the gap.

He added “that if government decides to subsidize fuel, they have to fund it. This will help sustain fuel imported into the country and prevent shortage.”

Outlining strategic plans for next year, the NPA CEO said his outfit will install a tracking device to prevent tanker vehicles from sending fuel products to the wrong destination as well as mark the fuel, particularly the highly subsidized ones such as kerosene to stop adulteration of the petroleum products.

“It is very important that as an industry we embrace it and weed out recalcitrant individuals. The NPA will work with enforcement agencies to apply sanctions.”

Mr. Mould said the NPA has put in place validation process to help the authority clamp down on unlicensed fuel stations and illegal activities in the downstream petroleum sector.

He charged motorists to insist on the usage of the 10 liter can by all fuel stations in order to prevent cheating.

Kofi Kapito, CEO, Consumer Protection Agency, was happy that the NPA had created a platform to educate consumers and the public about the safety and usage of petroleum products.

He stressed the need to set a global standard on the use of fuel products in the country, adding that it was important for consumers and the public to seek information about fuel and its products. Activities lined up for the event include talk show on radio and TV to educate the public on safe usage of fuel, especially LPG. There will also be documentaries shown on televisions.

Meanwhile, the NPA says government has so far settled GH¢1.2 billion of TOR’s debt, which is unknown.

This includes GH¢445 million paid to Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) last year.

Mr. Mould said the move has strengthened the oil refinery to raise Letters of Credits to import crude oil to complement the efforts of the bulk oil storage distributors.

He added that TOR will be more economically viable if more capital is injected into the firm, saying it has approached the shareholder, the government of Ghana to put more capital into TOR to deliver.

The arrears were settled mostly through bonds raised by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) on behalf of the government.