The Head of Quality Assurance at the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Saeed Ubeidalah, has urged consumers of petroleum products to feel free and buy petroleum products from any fuel station in the country.
He said “so far as the fuel station is operating and has not been shut down, you should be assured of high-quality product for your vehicle or machine” adding that, “Ghana is the only country in West Africa which sells petroleum products at 50 parts per million (ppm) since 2017.”
Addressing journalists at a capacity-building workshop for journalists in the Ashanti Region on petroleum pricing formula, post deregulation and fuel quality at Kumasi on Friday, he said some consumers are sensitive to pricing while others are to brand.
However, according to the Quality Assurance Head, “Ghanaians are made to believe the cheaper the price, the lesser quality or if you want good product, go to the big fuel stations. If you want to compromise the integrity of your engine, go to the other stations.
“I’ve always said that not until NPA closes a fuel station, the presumption is that the station has been monitored, the quality of the product has been guaranteed and it is certified to be sold to the public” he added.
Mr Saeed explained that the Authority has developed electronic tracking devise that monitored the movement of petroleum products from depots to locations in order to ensure that petrol and diesel are not diluted or adulterated.
He said high quality petrol and diesel remained the hallmark of the authority at all the 4,000 retail outlets across the country, saying, “we are always monitoring to ensure that the various retail outlets meet specifications and standards.”
That, notwithstanding, admitted there were few bad nuts who were not playing by the rules of NPA and advised consumers of petroleum products to report suspected contamination of the commodity to the authority for investigation.
He asked consumers to consider it shared responsibilities in helping the authority fight fuel contamination by making use of the complaints platform to get their grievances across.
“We recommend that such cases are reported to the NPA within 48 hours for prompt investigation by contacting any of our regional offices across the country,” he said.
“We’ve had instances where offenders have been charged to replace car engines of consumers and also compensate for other damages caused the vehicle” he emphasized.
