Ghana’s National Petroleum Authority (NPA) has reiterated that ensuring adequate fuel supplies across the country remains its primary concern, even as the government absorbs an estimated GH¢520 million revenue shortfall following a GH¢2 reduction in fuel prices this month.
Mr. Abbas Ibrahim Tasunti, Director of Economic Regulation and Planning at the NPA, said the regulator’s responsibility is to promote fair and transparent pricing while ensuring that petroleum products remain consistently available to consumers nationwide.
He explained that maintaining fuel availability must come before considerations about pricing, stressing that importers and refineries must be able to recover their costs to sustain the supply of petroleum products.
According to Mr. Tasunti, the NPA is working to ensure that market participants can cover their operational costs and continue supplying the domestic market.
He said the Authority would continue implementing government directives on fuel pricing while monitoring market conditions to ensure that petroleum products remain reasonably priced and accessible across the country.
Mr. Tasunti’s comments come as the government continues to monitor movements in global crude oil prices following a slowdown in the decline of Brent crude prices since April.
Earlier this week, government officials disclosed that the GH¢2 reduction in fuel prices is expected to result in a revenue loss of more than GH¢520 million for the state during the month.
Mr. Tasunti, however, maintained that the NPA’s overriding objective is to ensure that consumers have reliable access to fuel to support economic activities across the country.