[ 2014-08-18 ]

Shortfalls in supply of petroleum products is an economic and security threat
Interest groups in the Ghana’s petroleum
downstream sector want the current challenges in
the supply of products to be treated not only as
an economic but a security threat to the country.

Government’s inability to honour its financial
obligations to the Bulk Oil Distribution Companies
(BDCs) and the failure of commercial banks to
facilitate the process have resulted in shortfalls
in products’ available on the market.

Most fuel stations are presently unable to access
ordered quantities of diesel and premix fuel to
meet market demands. In recent times, petrol has
also been in short supply because the BDCs are not
supplying.

Coupled with hikes in utility prices, the
operators of fuel stations say they are challenged
in breaking even, making the business of petroleum
retailing unattractive.

According to the Petroleum Retailers Association,
members are tempted to lay off workers in order to
survive the impact of inconsistent and inadequate
supplies of petroleum products.

Sammy Amett, Secretary for the Northern Sector of
the Association, says the inability to lift
supplies increases the cost of borrowing from the
banks as the businesses have to pay high interest
rates in credit facilities.

He is particularly worried at the security
implications when companies can’t get the
services of bullion vans to move their cash from
business premises to the banks.

“It gives a field day for miscreants in the
society that money may be sitting somewhere, so
security wise we are in danger,” he observed.
“The moment the driver can’t move to the
hinterland to pick food, people get hungry in the
city; the banks cannot work if they can’t get
fuel to power the generator when we have power
outages.”

The retailers are sometimes accused of hoarding
products to sell at unapproved prices to
consumers.

But a fuel station manager, Anthony Kwamena
Ammissah says the dealers can sell what is
available though often refuse to serve late night
due to security concerns.

Other stations also seek to first serve their
regular customers in difficult times.

Mr. Amett believes it’s high time the government
paid serious attention to revamping the Tema Oil
Refinery to service the needs of the West African
sub-region.

“It is very sad that at the advent of oil
discovery in Ghana, we can’t refine our share
and serve the sub-region. When they were
formulating the policies, were they not able to
foresee this kind of situation?” he queried.

Source - Kofi Adu Domfeh

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