Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has bemoaned what he has described as the staggering losses in petroleum revenue to the government due to illegal activities in petroleum distribution.
According to him, it is estimated that between 2015-2019, the government lost GHC4.7 billion in tax revenue as a result of illegal activities in the petroleum sector.
He said this at the launch of an innovative Digital Retail Fuel Monitoring System by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) in Accra.
The second gentleman of the land said the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) will put measures in place to end the malady of revenue loss and significantly boost government revenue.
“Actions, decisions and policies of individuals and corporate bodies which result in petroleum product distribution leakages and the associated revenue losses to the State have serious negative effects on the developmental agenda of the government.”
The Fuel Monitoring System, which allows fuel in OMC tanks across the country to be monitored by NPA, will curb illicit activities in the petroleum downstream, such as unauthorised third-party deliveries, fake receipts, smuggling, among others. Under this system, any OMC that receives illegal fuel would be found out.
Launching the programme in Accra on Wednesday, April 7, Vice President Bawumia commended the NPA for leveraging on the government’s digitization drive to create an innovative solution to a major problem in the petroleum industry.
“I am particularly delighted that the NPA is leveraging on technology to improve efficiency and effectiveness in the distribution of petroleum products in the Petroleum Downstream Industry,” Vice President Bawumia said.
Dr. Bawumia underscored the significance of the innovation to the overall development agenda of the government, highlighting the importance of petroleum revenue.
The Retail Fuel Monitoring System, with a command centre at the NPA’s head office, will be able to monitor in real-time online, every fuel sales data from pumps, get station tank fuel levels data and fillings, handle overall wet-stock management and handle complete fuel management.
The system will also be able to manage all fuel-related data, among other things in real-time.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com
