Business News of Wednesday, 15 January 2020Source: www.citibusinessnews.comBawumia unveils system to prevent illicit fuel diversionThe center is to be run by the NPA in collaboration with other stakeholdersThe Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has launched a digital Command and Control Centre for Bulk Road Vehicle (BRV) and an Electronic Cargo Tracking System (ECTS) that is expected to prevent the illicit diversion of fuel in transit. The center is to be run by the National Petroleum Authority in collaboration with other key stakeholders in the petroleum downstream sector. Speaking at the launch in Accra on Tuesday, January 14, 2020, Vice President Bawumia said the operationalization of the Centre, which would track the movement of all petroleum products in real-time, would have several benefits, key among which is reduced revenue losses and greater efficiency in the control and distribution of petroleum products. He expressed worry about the network of illegal activities going on in the petroleum downstream industry mostly in the form of bunkering, smuggling of petroleum products and the dumping of products meant for export on the local market. “It is estimated that these illegal activities cost the country over US$200 million per annum in the form of lost direct petroleum tax revenue, subsidies that do not get to the targeted constituencies, and abuse in transport claims for transportation of petroleum products among others.

Source: GhanaWeb January 15, 2020 07:18 UTC