Chief Executive Officer of National Petroleum Authority, Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid on Tuesday, March 22 paid a courtesy call on the Western Regional Minister, Dr. Kwabena Okyere Darko Mensah at the Regional Coordinating Council.
The former minister of Information said that since the assumption of office on July 1, 2021, he had taken time off to tour the country, where NPA operations are, to familiarize himself with its workings. The visit to the Western Region is a wrap of his tour.
Dr. Abdul-Hamid who also served as minister for Inner City and Zongo Development emphasized that the Western Region was important, particularly for the presence of the Takoradi port which is an inlet for petroleum products, and then the tendency for fuel smuggling, and other illegal activities in the downstream which may pose a danger to the quality of fuel and to government revenue.
He commended the Western Regional Minister as head of the Regional Security Council for the cooperation the National Petroleum Authority has enjoyed in the region.
While welcoming the NPA boss to the region, Western Regional Minister, Dr. Kwabena Okyere Darko Mensah bemoaned the issues regarding the illegal bombing of petroleum products in the region. He hinged on that to charge the National Petroleum Authority to make time to engage the communities that have issues of the sort occurring, to educate the people, beyond just arrests, confiscation, and imprisonment. He also called for investment into the communities through the authority’s corporate social responsibility.
Hon. Minister, who doubles as MP for Takoradi further charged the NPA to intensify education in areas of fuel prices, considering that the taxes which are often cited as causing the swell in fuel prices are actually a minute part of the pricing regime. He emphasized that taxes are required to develop the nation while encouraging the population to explore other means of transport.
In reaction to some of the points made by the Regional Minister, CEO of NPA Dr. Abdul-Hamid declared that the Authority’s Consumer Service Week would take place in Takoradi. He stressed that that would present a beautiful opportunity for the NPA to engage with the people to properly in education.
He further reechoed the point about the tax component on the price of fuel, underscoring that all the taxes only amounted to a paltry Ghc 1.90p, contrary to the chorus that fuel prices are as much as they are due to the taxes.
He stressed that regardless of how little the tax component was, it was also important in meeting the developmental needs of Ghana.
The National Petroleum Authority boss and his entourage will visit the Atuabo Gas Plant, Takoradi Port and other petroleum installations in the region on his 4-day working tour.