Fuel tankers to be monitored with tracking devices
The Chief Executive of the Association of Oil Marketing Companies (AOMC), Mr Kwaku Agyeman Duah, has stated that the implementation of the policy to use tracking devices on all fuel tankers within the country will commence next month.
The move is to trace and track all fuel tankers that load fuel from the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) and other loading points across the country and on their way to their final destinations.
He made the disclosure at a dealers and supervisors’ convention organised by Star Oil Company Limited, one of the leading oil marketing ventures in Ghana.
He expressed worry over the reported cases of adulteration of fuel, as well as the diversion of the fuel by some unscrupulous tanker drivers and their collaborators, and noted that the tracking device was a major breakthrough in minimising those bad acts.
Mr Agyeman-Duah cautioned that the least adulteration of fuel would attract a fine of at least GH¢20,000, as well as other punitive measures, including the withdrawal of the operating licence of the offending company.
He said the AOMC had intensified its educational campaign among operators, especially those at the dispensing points, on safety measures, particularly to prevent the outbreak of fires and, when they occurred, how to contain them.
He was full of praise for Star Oil for observing a high sense of responsibility in ensuring that its dealers and workers adhered strictly to safety measures.
The Chairman of Star Oil, Mr Vincent Kaledzi, announced that the company would, before the end of the year, introduce floating meters on all tankers to ensure that fuel station operators would have another means of knowing the quantity of fuel they received.
He noted that the government had done extremely well by colouring premix fuel to distinguish it from other fuel products, a decision which he said had yielded positive results.
He announced that Star Oil had introduced coupons and gave an assurance that next year the company would implement the use of its electronic cards to make the purchase of fuel products from its stations very easy and safe.
The National Co-ordinator of the Unified Petroleum Pricing Fund of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Mr Jacob Amuah, expressed concern over the indiscriminate siting of fuel stations across the country, especially in residential areas, without proper approval.
Source: Daily Graphic