The Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) says the 34 million litres of diesel released by the government is woefully inadequate because they are not getting the required amount for onward distribution to fuel stations across the country.
“We have our tankers at the depots and they are not getting the number of orders that they have placed so you can imagine an OMC which has got 70 retail outlets and being allocated four trucks…so it’s not really not the best of situations that we have now,” said the Chief Executive Officer and Industry Coordinator of the OMCs, Kwaku Agyeman Duah.
The Energy Ministry on Monday announced it has released 34 million litres of diesel for distribution to filling stations across the country to minimize the current fuel shortage.
This follows an acute shortage of diesel in some parts of the country specifically, the Ashanti Region, Volta Region, Western Region and the Northern Regions.
But the Energy Ministry says the amount released is expected to last for a week.
Mr. Agyeman Duah on Eyewitness News clarified that the products will take between three to four days to reach the consumer therefore, the shortage will still be experienced in the affected areas for a while.
He commended the government for releasing the products because according to him, the shortage was adversely affecting the economy.
He noted that most commercial vehicles, long distance vehicles and petroleum tankers relied on diesel to ply their trade and so the shortage was affecting their operations.
The CEO of the Oil Marketing Companies recommended that consumers must pay the right price for the product to end the frequent shortages.
“We all have to learn to pay the right price of fuel…at the right time. If we are going to pay the right price and we don’t pay on time, we are going to have Forex losses,” he added.
By: Efua Idan Osam/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @osamidan