Petroleum Authority denies creating new account

THE National Petroleum Authority (NPA) has denied that it has created a new account where gains made from the sale of petroleum products are kept for unknown purposes.
The authority also stated that it had not indirectly introduced any new taxes or levies, as was being alleged by a section of the public.
Reacting to a statement allegedly made by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Adansi Asokwa, Mr K.T. Hammond, on Wednesday, July 15, 2009, the acting Chief Executive Officer of the NPA, Mr Alex Mould, stated that the mechanism to save some money accruing from what he described as ex-refinery differentials was introduced in 2006.
He said there was the need for that account to be set up to take care of any under-recovery resulting from subsidies on products such as kerosene, premix fuel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
He further explained that unlike premium, which always attracted relatively higher prices, kerosene, premix fuel and LPG were subsidised.
Mr Mould said it was unfortunate for Mr Hammond, who was a Deputy Minister for Energy at the time the mechanism was created, to question its existence now, adding, “If there was the need for the creation of the account to go to Parliament, then it should have been done in 2006.”
Supporting his statement with a letter dated November 1, 2008 and signed by the then Chief Executive Officer of the NPA, Mr John Attafuah, which directed the oil marketing companies (OMCs) to pay into the said account, Mr Mould said the current board only followed what it came to meet.
“We at the NPA have not done anything fraudulent to warrant the allegation made by Mr Hammond in Parliament,” he stressed.
In an answer to a question, the CEO said the NPA had not made any changes to the formula, neither had it changed the bank accounts which, he said, were at the Bank of Ghana (BoG) and the Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) which no individual could have access to.
He said the existence of those accounts was known to all stakeholders in the petroleum industry and that they were being used to harmonise shortfalls due to the fact that some of the products were being subsided.
Mr Mould gave the assurance that the NPA would go by its mandate, as stipulated in Act 691, adding, “We have the responsibility to satisfy both the consumers and the importers of petroleum products in the country.”