Government's GH¢1.8 billion indebtedness to bulk oil distribution
companies (BDCs) has taken a new dimension, with the potential to
negatively affect the supply of petroleum products across the country
in the coming weeks.
This is because international suppliers of petroleum products have put
under 'lock and key' one week's supply of petrol and diesel until the
BDCs honour their debt obligations to the suppliers.
To compound the problem, local banks have declined to issue letters of
credit (LCs) to the BDCs to pay off their debts to their international
suppliers because the current debt is threatening the survival of the
banks.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Chamber of Bulk Oil
Distributors (CBOD Ghana), Mr Senyo Hosi, told the Daily Graphic in an
interview that the situation would create fuel shortages across the
country within a week if the government did not take immediate steps
to pay its debt to the BDCs.
However, a highly-placed government source, which acknowledged the
problems facing the BDCs, said the government and its agencies were in
talks with the companies to resolve the issue once and for all.
It said there was no cause for alarm because the situation would be
normalised in no time.
Audit of debt
Meanwhile, the government has tasked international audit firm, Ernst
and Young to, conduct an audit into the GH¢1.8 billion debt, being
subsidies on petrol and diesel from July 2011 to date.
It will take about six weeks for the audit to be completed, but Mr
Hosi indicated that the situation would get out of hand if the BDCs
had to wait for six weeks before discharging fuel products.
Welcoming the government's decision to audit the claims of the BDCs,
he said, "Since it will take six weeks to complete the audit,
vis-a-vis the urgency of the crisis we face, partial payment must be
made."
"In principle, the parties, including the government, the National
Petroleum Authority (NPA), the BDCs and the banks, do agree that a
debt exists in some form," he said.
To establish "funding confidence in the industry", he suggested that
the government needed to make some payment to resuscitate the supply
of petroleum products to the market.
Stop subsidising
While indicating that fuel shortage was imminent, as a result of the
outstanding debt, Mr Hosi said there was no need for the government to
continue subsidising fuel products.
He said there was lack of clarity on the government's commitment to
honour its debt obligation, while it continued to subsidise fuel.
"When you continue to subsidise, you are digging a bigger hole because
you are increasing debt without clearing it. You don't solve a problem
by creating more problems," he said.
Meanwhile, there was fuel at filling stations in some parts of Accra,
in spite of speculations that fuel shortage will hit the country soon,
reports Seth J. Bokpe, ACCRA.
Out of the 16 fuel stations the Daily Graphic visited at Adabraka,
Kaneshie, Darkuman, Sakaman, the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, Odorkor, Osu
and along the Farrar Avenue, only two did not have diesel or petrol.
Attendants at the Sky Oil Filling Station at the Nkrumah Circle told
the Daily Graphic that the station had run out of petrol since last
Friday.
And at the Total Filling Station near the Ghana Commercial Bank at
Circle, the attendant said the station ran out of diesel Friday.
However, at the Adabraka Total Filling Station, near the Roxy Cinema,
an attendant told the Daily Graphic that there was enough fuel to last
for even two weeks.
The story was different at the Shell Station near Abossey Okai where
the attendant said the station had taken delivery of fuel on Saturday.
At the Kaneshie-Odorkor GOIL Station, the attendants said they had
enough fuel to last until Tuesday but were not sure when the next
consignment would arrive.
At the Darkuman Total, the attendants said the last time the station
received fuel was 10 days ago.
"All we have heard are rumours of an impending fuel shortage, but we
have enough to go for a week or two," the attendants, who asked for
anonymity, said.
At the Sakaman GOIL and Shell stations, busy fuel attendants said the
two stations had enough fuel. They, too could not tell when their next
delivery would arrive, nor could they tell when what they had now
would finish.
It was the same story at OJK Oil and Darkuman GOIL, both at Darkuman,
and the Goil and Shell Filling stations at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle.
However, at the Accra Sports Stadium, an attendant said if the station
did not receive any fuel by Wednesday, then there would be shortage.
The last time fuel shortage hit Accra was January 27, this year.
Source: Graphic
