Source: newsthemegh.com
The prosecution of criminal crimes that take place in accordance with the National Petroleum Authority Act 2005 (ACT 691) and its related regulations will shortly be started by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) Legal Directorate.
This comes after the Attorney General appointed a public prosecutor to handle criminal cases brought under the Act.
Before the implementation of Executive Instrument 378, the bulk of the criminal charges brought by the NPA were handled by the police in court, according to Ms. Farida Ali-Musah, Head of the Legal Directorate of the NPA, who made this statement at a media appearance in Takoradi.
According to her, the NPA was created in accordance with the Act and given a legal duty to oversee, monitor, and regulate the petroleum downstream business.
Despite the industry’s ongoing expansion, the regulatory scope, according to the speaker, remained stagnant, with overly broad rules failing to keep up with the industry’s shifting dynamics, particularly the conduct of some industry participants who engaged in illegal activity.
Ms. Ali-Musah pointed out that in order for Executive Instrument (EI) 378 to be effectively implemented, the Ghana Police Service, the Judiciary, the Media, stakeholders, and sister agencies must all work together. Only then will the NPA be in a position to stop such criminal activity.
According to her, EI, 378 would improve the authority’s regulatory monitoring of the industry and stop the flood of crime that was encroaching on the sector and harming the nation’s chances for generating income.
Additionally, she claimed, it would guarantee the victorious prosecution of criminals and reduce the brazenness of unlawful activity being committed by those in the industry.
Ms. Ali-Musah listed a number of offenses that would be prosecuted, including engaging in downstream industry activities without a license, applying the prescribed petroleum pricing formula incorrectly, making false statements or withholding important information, obstructing or interfering with authority officers or employees, abusing the BRV tracking and volume monitoring regulation, and violating the Petroleum Product Marketing regulations.
Sandra Aidoo, the NPA’s Western Regional Manager, claimed that a significant amount of illicit gasoline and ‘tabletop’ fuel operators of petroleum products had been seized in the region.
She said that between January and April of this year, her organization, working with the Navy and Marine police, apprehended smugglers along the region’s coastal communities and seized 73,000 liters of crude oil and 108,000 liters of fuel.
The 108,000 liters of diesel that were initially seized on the high seas in January—of which the smugglers were apprehended and were currently undergoing legal proceedings—and the 73,000 liters of crude oil that were seized in April were also forfeited, according to Ms. Aidoo.
She emphasized that although they might have lower pricing, NPA could not guarantee the quality of their fuel and that four retail outlets that did not achieve compliance scores were closed as part of their monitoring operation. She urged the public not to purchase fuel from “tabletops” and urged them not to do so.
The “Tabletop” gasoline operators, who Ms Aidoo identified as a risk to the public, will soon be the target of a sweep by her organization, the Police, and other stakeholders.
According to Mr. Dominic Aboagye, Head of Planning at the Authority, the country’s reputation as a centre of fuel supply in the sub-region was secured by mechanisms and interventions to assure uninterrupted oil supply, including the creative Gold for Oil strategy.
He noted that efforts were being made to improve the nation’s capacity for oil refining while also claiming that strict oversight of the laycan program, special international oil trading licenses, forex auctions, and the gold for oil policy assured a steady supply of fuel in the nation.
According to Mr. Aboagye, NPA uses the Lycan allocation software to guarantee fuel availability. This program helps to track distribution and consumption trends in great detail, which has aided in promoting the supply of fuel to nations like Mali, Niger, Togo, and Burkina Faso.
He claimed that NPA was aggressively pushing for the restoration of the Tema oil refinery and the building of the Sentuo refinery in order to increase the nation’s capacity for fuel refining and supply.