The Upper East Region was some time past the hub of major illegal oil trades in Ghana mostly along some border towns, however, through the efficient and effective monitoring by the National Petroleum Authority, all those outlets have been closed down.
This was disclosed by the Upper East Regional Director of the NPA during an engagement with some media personnel of the region at Akayet Hotel in Bolgatanga.
Mr. Bashiru Nantogma, disclosed that prior to his appointment as the director of the NPA in thr region, there were daily reports of some unscrupulous people dealing with illegal oil trade but through his effort, they have eliminated those practices in the region.
“You remember few years ago there were many reports of people engaging in illegal oil trade where some tankers go to the border towns to meet their counterparts from neighbouring countries to transfer the oil to them. That has stopped and you no longer hear of that.”
Mr. Bashiru added that fuel tankers now find it difficult to smuggle fuel from neighbouring countries into the country and out of the country due to the stringent measures that have been put in place by the collaborative efforts of the NPA and the security officers.
” We have stopped the smuggling of petrol into the country and out of the country. Sometimes people bring in the bad products to the innocent consumers without their knowledge. Some also take the petrol and only discharge small quantity into their tanks and take the rest out of the country. But as a result of our collaborative efforts with the security services, it has become unattractive to engage in such practices.”
By: Simon Agana Blessing/mywordfmonline.com