Frimps Oil at Penkwase, Goil near Eusbett Hotel, and Engen Oil in Sunyani in the Bono region have been closed by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) for dispensing less fuel than what customers pay for.
The seven dispensing machines at Frimps that were operational at the time of the inspection were all under dispensing, whilst two and four of the nozzles at Goil and Engen were also respectively, under distributing fuel to customers.
The NPA team also discovered that some of the nozzles at these filling stations were dispensing petroleum products in excess of what the customer had paid for.
The unplanned inspection comes off following an education session with the commercial drivers and vendors at the Nana Bosoma market, also known as the Wednesday market in the Sunyani municipal area of the Bono Region. The delegation was led by Kwadwo Odarno Appiah and Eunice Budu Nyarko, the Bono Regional Manager and Consumer Services Manager respectively.
The Bono Regional Manager emphasized that the Authority will keep an eye on the operations of fuel stations to ensure that customers are not cheated. He also hinted that the fuel stations that had been found culpable will be punished. He has also demanded that a report on investigations conducted by the stations be submitted to the NPA to ascertain the “malfunctioning” of the nozzles. Additionally, he advised the fuel stations to stop shaking cars and employing ramps when dispensing fuel. He hinted that the authority will not falter to temporarily shut down stations found using ramps.
With the rising costs of petroleum products especially fuel in the country, it is nearly suicidal to buy fuel with hard-earned money only to receive less than what you paid for. Drivers of both commercial and private vehicles are struggling to purchase fuel for their cars every day, this is not a good way to repay them at all, even a drop of fuel is an essential commodity in our current economy.
Belling the Cat
What is the cause of this anomaly? Could it be a deliberate attempt by the fuel stations to cheat the customers and make some extra money for themselves or are their dispensing machines faulty? In the case of Goil and Engen who are over dispensing, the latter is more probable.
Meanwhile, we will wait for the investigations to be conducted and the results released to the public to know the next line of action. The NPA must be commended for their proactiveness and also encouraged to undertake more of these inspection exercises across the country.
Priscilla Fumadorh
Priscilla is an entrepreneur and a creative communicator who loves to communicate through writing. She is passionate about national economic issues and does not miss a chance to offer her opinions on them for the good of the country.