The Co-convener of the Civil Society Alliance on Fisheries, Richster Nii Amarfio, who made the call on the Citi Breakfast Show on Thursday, said the state oil company, GOIL, could be directed to take charge of distributing the product, while government puts measures in place to investigate the current scandal in the sector which has come as a result of diversion of pre-mix fuel.

[contextly_sidebar id=”kXNV4MsGQqoVz7hEkrwvtFjVpcTHdqTs”]“I think that what we should be doing now is to suspend all the OMCs and allow GOIL, which is the state oil company to be doing the lifting until we have dealt with all the problem,” he said.

Reports from the NPA suggest that, diversion of pre-mix fuel has been rife in the sector since January 2017, with over 200 of such cases so far recorded.

Citi News sighted several letters the NPA wrote to the National Premix Committee and the stakeholders involved, complaining about the diversions of the product meant for landing beaches, but never reached its intended destination.

Despite this action, the NPA has not been able to take any drastic action in stopping the corrupt activity.

It has been estimated that, the country lost over GHc7 million in subsidies due to the illegality.

Ever since the exposé, there have been numerous calls on the NPA to prosecute the perpetrators, but the Authority is yet to make an official determination on the matter.

Nii Amarfio in the interview also charged the presidency “to step in and probably dissolve the National Pre-mix Committee, and put in place interim measures, and launch full scale investigation into what is happening, why the Ministry and the Pre-mix committee are not responding to any of the letters from the NPA so that Ghanaians are clear on what is happening to their taxes.”

“I think this will be in line with the president’s resolve to fight the acts of corruption. I think the presidency should step in. I also expect the IGP to also go into full scale investigation because the President has said he will let every allegation of corruption to be fully investigated. So the IGP should go in and investigate so that we can identify each driver and truck that is on the list of trucks alleged to have perpetrated these acts,” he added.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post Suspend OMCs, dissolve C’ttees over premix diversions – Fisheries Alliance appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

This follows reports of massive diversion of premix fuel meant for fishermen to other parts of Tema for industrial purposes.

According to letters signed by the Chief Executive Officer of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) and forwarded to the National Premix Committee continuously for eight months, the Central Region fell victim to the premix consignment diversions on four different occasions from April to July  2017.

[contextly_sidebar id=”EE7b1mStly2JRYmNTDx0UVKI6l8MOQJf”]The coastal belt of the Region starts from Komenda in the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem Municipality area, through Winneba to Nyinyano in the Gomoa East District, but only two notable areas: the Ekumfi District and the Mfantseman Municipality suffered the unfortunate artificial shortage.

While the Ekumfi area had three of its consignments diverted, the Mfantseman area had one.

On April 18, 2017, a 13,500 litre truckload of premix fuel from the Tema Oil Refinery, of invoice number 6543, that was to be sent to the Ekum Mpoano in the Ekumfi District, was diverted to a place at Tema.

On 20th of April, a similar quantity of the product from TOR meant for the Landing Beach Committee of Ekumfi Narkwa, of invoice number 6019, was diverted to Senya Breku, another part of the Central Region.

Again, on July 25 this year, another 13,500 litres of premix fuel, of invoice number 662, also from TOR, that was meant for Ekumfi Imuna, found its way to Kpone in the Greater Accra Region.

The last was on July 20, when a similar amount of the product loaded from TOR, of invoice number 88895, that was supposed to be brought to the Saltpond Landing Beach Committee, was diverted to Manya Krobo in the Eastern Region.

When Citi News visited Ekumfi Narkwa to meet officials of the Landing Beach Committee, the Committee showed April 2017 invoices for the 4^th and 27^th of that month.

The secretary of the Committee, Kenneth Andoh, confirmed they were actually awaiting a consignment on April 20, but it never arrived, and they took it to mean the usual delays associated with the supply.

Mr. Andoh said, “I didn’t sign any consignment on the 20^th or 21^st of April, though we were expecting a consignment, but I didn’t get any explanation from anywhere”.

Asked about the last time fishermen had premix fuel at Ekumfi Narkwa, he indicated they have not been getting it for two weeks now.

At the Saltpond Nankesedo Landing Beach Committee, at the time of Citi News’ visit, some fishermen were seen holding gallons getting ready to go to the fuel station in the heart of Saltpond.

Oblivious of what the reality on the ground was, the fishermen had gone to the house of the Landing Beach Committee chairman’s residence, fuming over why they have not been getting the product.

They complained angrily that they have not been getting premix fuel for over two months now.

One of the angry fishermen and owner of three canoes, Opanyin Kofi Ansah, said, “We are really having a turbulent time as a result of this premix shortage. It is an indispensable input in our work, but it’s always in short supply”.

He said “Government should deal ruthlessly with all those smuggling the product for denying us of what is due us. We have planned of going to the MCE’s office to demonstrate. We are now spending extra money to buy other products to mix them for our machines.”

Confirming the fishermen’s frustration, the pump attendant of the Committee complained that, “Sometimes, we are firmly promised that the premix consignment is on its way, but we will wait for days, and nothing will come. It’s almost three months now, and we have had no premix here at Saltpond. It’s embarrassing to be told to wait for a consignment and it will not come”.

Contacts made to fishermen at Ekum Mpoano also confirmed that, the area has not been getting the product for close to three months.

The fishermen in all the four areas have been resorting to the use of a combination of other petroleum productions to power their outboard motors, at a cost three times the amount they would have spent on premix fuel.

There have been similar reports of artificial shortages in many coastal communities of the Western Region.

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By: Joseph Ackon-Mensah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Ekumfi, Saltpond hit by premix shortage amidst reports of diversion appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to him, the consents of the aforementioned stakeholders are needed before the diversions are made and have nothing to do with the National Pre-mix Committee.

Citi News has cited several letters from the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) to the National Pre-mix Committee, revealing how the product meant for landing beaches never reach their intended destinations.

[contextly_sidebar id=”OwH3PM4ALsd7aN7JOYHqyGWTA5wYbZSc”]Over 200 of such cases have so far been recorded by the NPA since January 2017.

In a bid to curb the menace, which is said to have cost the country over GHc7 million because of the subsidy on the product, the National Pre-mix Committee however proposed for a cut down on the number of landing beaches.

But Mr Armah Quaye while speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Monday over the issue insisted that the diversions can end if the NPA holds all others in the supply chain responsible and punishes them accordingly.

“A landing beach alone cannot take the product and go and sell. When they want to divert pre-mix, the fact is that it should have the consent of the OMC, the landing beach and then the truck driver. So if pre-mix has been diverted, these are three people who should be held responsible and not the OMC alone.”

“…the pre-mix secretariat does not have the machine to be seeing the truck, only that they will be waiting for the truck to land at the landing beach and then the fishermen or the committee will testify that it has arrived. So it will be very difficult to hold the secretariat responsible.”

He further called for a dialogue among the stakeholders in the sector in a bid to have the issue addressed holistically.

“It is at least a chain. If you want to look at it in totality, we need to call for a stakeholders meeting between the Ministry of Energy, NPA, transporters, the landing beach and the oil marketing company so they can iron out such issue,” he added.

Give fishermen coupon

Dr. Charles Wereko-Brobby, who once served as policy adviser when the sale of pre-mix fuel for fisher-folk was instituted, has said the whole policy as currently exists must be scrapped.

Whilst the policy introduced in 1990 was intended to help fisher-folk, Mr. Wereko-Brobby said “the intent was badly executed.”

Dr. Wereko-Brobby proposed that fisher-folk be given coupons to buy the additives themselves instead of government subsiding the product.

“Fishermen should have been given coupons to buy the additives and mix it rather than creating a situation where you are supposedly making the pre-mix [for them]… so you don’t create a market for alternative uses.”

Coupons won’t solve issue

But Mr Armah Quaye said introducing the coupon is not the best solution to halt the pre-mix fuel diversions.

“We have about 14,000 canoes in the whole country only, 9,000 are currently operating…if you say we should go and buy coupon, what it means is that the fish on the open market is going to  be very expensive and that is why government is subsidizing the pre-mix for the fishermen. We started it about 25 years ago but it failed,” he added.

Premix fuel sector gold mine for party executives – Inland Fisherman

Chairman of the National Inland Canoe Fishermen Council, Jacob Tetteh Ageke, had suggested that political party executives in various constituencies are involved in the act, adding that they profit hugely from the mismanagement of the distribution.

Mr. Owusu confirmed this, reminding the NPA to be tough regardless of political influence.

“The issue lies with NPA. NPA has to be tough irrespective of whoever is there because these are political people who have taken a position in this premix issue so it is very risky as an authority trying to stamp your authority on these things. I believe the NPA can do more. “

Pre-mix fuel diversion: We can’t punish perpetrators – Committee

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the National Pre-mix Fuel committee, Nii Lantey Bannerman, has said his outfit does not have the power to sanction persons who divert subsidized premix fuel meant for fishermen to other areas to be sold to industries.

According to him, only the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) can sanction or withdraw the licenses of the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) who perpetrate such acts.

OMCs making abnormal profit from diversions

The government is spending several millions of cedis subsidizing the cost of premix fuel for fishermen, who are buying it at Gh7.20 pesewas per gallon.

Per Citi News’ calculations, the diversions from January to October alone have cost the country about 7 million cedis.

However, there are reports that those diverting the product are selling it to industries about two times the price, thereby creating artificial shortages in the fishing communities, and denying fishermen their due.

Below is a list of instances of pre-mix fuel diversion

Fishing industry collapsing

This is happening at a time when fishing communities in need of the fuel hardly get access to it due to its shortage and high cost in their respective areas.

The lack of the product in these communities affects the activities of fisherfolks, eventually leading to fewer catches, allowing excess importation of fish and fish products from other countries.

–

By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post ‘OMCs, landing beach c’ttees, truck drivers complicit in pre-mix diversions’ appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to the Chairman of the National Inland Canoe Fishermen Council, Jacob Tetteh Ageke, it is unfair for the inland fishermen to be singled out for blame, when in most cases, they don’t even receive the fuel allocated to them.

“I don’t agree totally [that the diversion is only happening inland]. The diversion is happening across the country. The pre-mix is for fishermen, and they are supposed to handle it, but the diversion is happening in Ashaiman. Ghanaians are at risk because when they go to the fuel station, they don’t know what they are buying. There’s diversion inland and along the marine as well,” he said on Eyewitness News on Monday.

“For the inlands, where I represent, to be singled out is unfortunate. We the inland fishermen didn’t create the problem, the pre-mix is for us and we have to handle it.”

Citi News gathered from the NPA’s series of letters that, between January 2017 to October for instance, about 200 premix fuel consignments loaded from the Tema Oil Refinery, were not delivered to the intended destinations indicated on the invoices and Returns of the Oil Marketing Companies, OMCs.

Joseph Ageke claimed that local executives of whichever political party is in power or persons who claimed to have contributed to that party’s ascension to government, take possession of the fuel meant for the fisher-folk and sell it at exorbitant prices.

“We [fishermen] have been thrown out, the moment government changes, the pre-mix fuel is taken and given to party chairmen and businessmen. One person could come and say that they supported President Akufo-Addo to come into power so they are going to take over the pre-mix fuel and they indeed do so. There are communities that have no outboard motors which are taking pre-mix fuel. The fishermen are not diverting the pre-mix fuel. It’s the fuel dealers in Ashaiman and other places, party chairmen and foot-soldiers who are not fishing and have taken over the pre-mix fuel. It happened in NDC’s regime and it’s happening more in NPP’s regime,” he claimed.

“The fishermen have turned to NPP because Nana Akufo-Addo said that when he becomes President, he would give the pre-mix fuel to fishermen to handle, but that hasn’t happened. The party chairmen take it and sell it wherever they’ll make more money. The pre-mix business is one of the booming businesses in this country. A gallon of pre-mix fuel is sold from Gh¢7.20 up to Gh¢7.50.”



Shortage of fuel worries fishermen

Fisher-folk in the Western Region told Citi News that the supply of the product has not been regular since the beginning of January 2017.

They say the Nana Addo government started supplying the product on a good note in January, but the situation took a nosedive when various scheduled date were violated.

The Western Region since January 2017 has had 189,000 gallons of premix fuel diverted 14 times, mainly to Tema. These diversions were done on a small scale in the first half of the year, but took a dramatic turn in July up until October.

‘Over 200 cases’

The National Petroleum Authority’s BRV Tracking System, recorded over 200 instances of diverted premix fuel between January and October 2017, but the regulator has failed to sanction the perpetrators.

It has instead been writing letters repeatedly to the National Premix Committee, which says it has no power to prosecute or entirely check the distribution of the product.

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By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Premix fuel sector gold mine for party executives – Inland Fisherman appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to him, only the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) can sanction or withdraw the licenses of the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) who perpetuate such acts.

The NPA, has only complained about massive diversions of pre-mix fuel loaded from the Tema Oil Refinery, leaving fishermen who are supposed to receive the fuel stranded.

[contextly_sidebar id=”ipFLZsFaJ7oeLrKpXoZenAXhNZh5b4aR”]Per the NPA’s numerous letters written to the National Premix Committee since the beginning of 2017, it has  been established that premix fuel consignments loaded from the Tema Oil Refinery, were not delivered to the intended destinations indicated on the invoices and returns of the OMCs.

This comes on the back of the country’s dwindling fish stock which has compelled government to import over 600,000 metric tonnes of fish annually.

But speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Monday over the development, the Chairman of the Pre-mix Fuel Committee, Nii Lantey Bannerman, seemed helpless, and would not take any blame for the situation, although landing beach committees under its control, are found issuing voices even without receiving the consignments.

Nii Lantey Bannerman however called on the NPA to deal with the perpetrators.

“At the end of the day, the onus lies on the NPA to sanction. If you look at it well, the penalties charged go to the NPA. So we made it clear to the NPA that either they strip the OMCs of their licenses or prosecute. That thing doesn’t lie with us. It lies with the NPA as the regulator.”

“From where we sit, we don’t have the power to prosecute, we don’t even have the power to take on these OMCs, it lies with the NPA to do that. That mandate has been given to them, and we are executing was is expected of us,” he stressed.

Some of the diversions were legal 

Mr. Bannerman also noted that, some of the diversions captured by the NPA are as a result of re-allocation,  but said such instances are negligible compared to the magnitude of the diversions.

“There are re-allocations that also happen, and if NPA doesn’t update its system on time, it is captured as diversion. But we have records to show that some of them we issued reallocation because at the time of sending the fuel, some other area might be in dire need of it. It’s very negligible,” he added.

12 major diversions in January alone

A document sighted by the Citi News from the NPA indicated that, there were 12 major diversions of pre-mix fuel in January alone.

There have been over 200 diversions between January and October 2017.

Although the NPA identified the challenge, very little seem to have been done to arrest the situation.

Citi News has sighted series of letters from the NPA to the National Pre-mix committee, informing them about the diversions between February and October, but no action had been taken.

In one of the letters, the NPA said, “it was also noted that officials of the Landing Beach Committees (LBCs) of these intended destinations have signed and stamped the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) Fuel Delivery forms as having received the product. This constitutes a misrepresentation of the facts of the deliveries to the UPPF. In view of this, the UPPF Secretariate has rejected all freight claims in respect of these suspected diversions.”

It is unclear why the NPA which has the power to prosecute, has chosen to be writing letters for all these months, when the illegality still continues.

OMCs making abnormal profit from diversions

The government is spending several millions of cedis subsidizing the cost of premix fuel for fishermen, who are buying it at Gh7.20 pesewas per gallon.

Per Citi News’ calculations, the diversions from January to October alone, has cost the country about 7 million cedis.

However, there are reports that those diverting the product are selling it to industries about two times the price, thereby creating artificial shortages in the fishing communities, and denying fishermen their due.

–

By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post Pre-mix fuel diversion: We can’t punish perpetrators – Committee appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

This comes at a time when the country’s fishing industry is on the brink of collapse due to numerous challenges including the lack premix fuel and the high cost of the product.

[contextly_sidebar id=”vxYmBmk8D2OLXNnB8exvwu8xnxj39M0r”]Citi News gathered that in January 2017 for instance, premix fuel consignments loaded from the Tema Oil Refinery, were not delivered to the intended destinations indicated on the invoices and Returns of the Oil Marketing Companies, OMCs.

A document sighted by the Citi News from the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) indicated that, there were 12 major diversions of pre-mix fuel in January alone.

In all instances, although the product was documented to be bound for the Volta Region, they ended up in Accra, according to information obtained by the NPA’s BRV Tracking System and Returns.

Although the NPA identified the challenge, very little seem to have been done to arrest the situation.

Citi News has sighted series of letters from the NPA to the National Pre-mix committee informing it about the development between February and October, but no action had been taken.

In one of the letters, the NPA said, “it was also noted that officials of the Landing Beach Committees (LBCs) of these intended destinations have signed and stamped the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) Fuel Delivery forms as having received the product. This constitutes a misrepresentation of the facts of the deliveries to the UPPF. In view of this, the UFFP SEcretariate has rejected all freight claims in respect of the these suspected diversions.”

Fisheries sector terribly affected

The country’s fishing industry is almost crippled due to reasons including the lack of pre-mix fuel. In July 2017, fisher-folk experienced a massive shortage of pre-mix fuel as the fishing season reached its peak.

This affected the country’s fish supply, allowing excess importation of fish and fish products from other countries.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Massive diversion of pre-mix fuel uncovered as fishermen suffer appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The Chairman of the Committee, Nii Lante Bannerman told Citi News that it is working closely with the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) to supply enough premix fuel to meet the high demands on the market.

[contextly_sidebar id=”ItHZWga2TFrYA4cLWjpzViw3ZmxrKUNq”]The sale of premix fuel has recently seen a shortage as the fishing season reaches its peak.

The Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture had earlier blamed the shortage on some challenges with pumps at TOR. A claim TOR denied.

Nii Lante Bannerman admitted that the TOR could not meet the demand of pre-mix fuel hence the need to complement their supply.

“We are not putting the blame on TOR but the issue is that TOR cannot meet our demand for the week,” he said.

He added that his outfit has met with various stakeholders including TOR and the National Petroleum Authority to ensure that another company is engaged to help supply enough pre-mix fuel to meet demand.

“This is something we came to meet. We had a meeting with Hassan Tampuli of NPA, TOR…we are doing everything possible to ensure that this is solved… It is not something we are looking on to continue,” he said.

Fishermen bemoan impact of shortages

Meanwhile, some fishermen at Shama in the Western Region tell Citi Business News they are yet to receive adequate supplies to meet their needs.

They explain that the development has compelled them to stay out of businesses for the past three weeks.

“The shortage has really affected us very much; it was just yesterday that we had reports of some deliveries. If you ask me, I’ll say the premix committee hasn’t been properly constituted to ensure the constant supply of premix,” one of them stated.

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By: Caleb Kudah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Expect more premix fuel soon – Committee appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.