The Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has launched a digital Command and Control Centre for Bulk Road Vehicle (BRV) and an Electronic Cargo Tracking System (ECTS) that is expected to prevent the illicit diversion of fuel in transit.
“As we all know, energy is critical to everything we do, from home to office and industry, and how countries manage their energy sector along the supply chain has become a very important issue around the globe. The Government, therefore, places high priority on the development of all sources of energy and their distribution to ensure the availability of cheap, yet quality energy for the good people of Ghana.”
He expressed worry about the network of illegal activities going on in the petroleum downstream industry mostly in the form of bunkering, smuggling of petroleum products and the dumping of products meant for export on the local market.
“It is estimated that these illegal activities cost the country over US$200 million per annum in the form of lost direct petroleum tax revenue, subsidies that do not get to the targeted constituencies, and abuse in transport claims for transportation of petroleum products among others.
The launch of the 24/7 Command Centre had, therefore, come at the right time, he added, saying “This is yet another example of how we can leverage on technology to tackle some of the problems that continue to undermine our ability to build the Ghana we want.”
The Chief Executive Officer of the NPA, Alhassan Tampuli, announced plans by the Authority to deploy Automatic Tank Gauging and Stock Management and Monitoring Systems at retail outlets in the country to give the regulatory authorities such as the NPA and the Ghana Revenue Authority, real-time view of petroleum product stocks and movements at all retail outlets and depots in the country.
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