SALE OF FUEL IN CONTAINERS BANNED IN UWR (PAGE 21)

THE Upper West Regional Security Council (REGSEC) has with immediate effect banned the sale of petroleum products with the exception of Kerosene above 4.5 litres in containers or in drums.
The ban follows the abnormal rise in the usage of those products in the region.
At an emergency REGSEC meeting convened in Wa last Monday with representatives of the Oil Marketing Companies(OMCs), the Chairman of the REGSEC and Upper West Regional Minister, Mr Mahmud Khalid, said there was enough evidence to suspect that petroleum products transported into the region were being smuggled into neighbouring countries by some selfish individuals.
He said the use of petrol and diesel in the region had more than doubled since the reduction of prices of petroleum products last month.
To this end, Mr Khalid advised representatives of the OMCs to co-operate with the REGSEC in its determination to curb the smuggling of the products into neighbouring countries.
The directive is coming on the heels of a similar decision by the Upper East REGSEC about a week ago.
Throwing more light on the situation, Mr Khalid mentioned Gwollu and Tumu in the Sissala West and Sissala East districts as well as Hamile in the Lambussie Karni district as the main points through which the products were smuggled outside the country.
“At Gwollu for instance, sometimes fuel is discharged by 10 a.m. and by 2 p.m., the petrol attendants claim there is no fuel, meanwhile we all know the number of the vehicle population in the area”, he noted with concern.
He, however, directed that all institutions which found it necessary to buy fuel in drums and other containers to obtain chits from the respective districts assemblies or the Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) to be able to do so.
Mr Khalid called for vigilance on the part of security agencies, especially at the borders with neighbouring countries, hinting that a regional task force compromising representatives from the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), the police and the RCC would be constituted to oversee the discharge and sale of petroleum products in the municipality.
The regional minister said, similar task forces comprising representatives from the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) and the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) would be formed, especially within the border towns and at the district levels.
“We cannot allow some selfish individuals to smuggle the petrol and diesel into neighbouring countries; this is taxpayers’ money,” the regional minister emphasised.