The Volta Regional Minister, Dr Archibald Yao Letsa, has pledged to cooperate with the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) to regulate the petroleum downstream industry in the region.
He said his support was to enable the Authority to discharge its statutory mandate effectively to ensure consumers of petroleum products get quality petroleum products at the right price and quantity.
Mr. Letsa was speaking in Ho, when the new NPA’s Volta Regional Manager, Mr. Godwin Yaw Konu, paid a courtesy call on him at his office.
Mr Konu was at the office to introduce himself as the NPA Volta Regional Manager, who had taken responsibility for the administration of the NPA in the Volta and Oti regions.
The meeting also discussed several issues relative to the petroleum downstream industry in the Volta region.
Receiving the delegation, Dr. Letsa pledged his support and that of the Volta Regional Coordinating Council to the NPA in the region, to succeed in its operations.
On his part, the NPA Volta Regional Manager, Mr Godwin Yaw Konu explained that the mandate of the NPA is to regulate, oversee and monitor the activities of the downstream petroleum industry.
Mr Konu indicated that, the NPA regional office exists to further the overall vision of the Authority in the region and to ensure that economic growth and development is not hindered.
As such, the regional office would facilitate the speedy growth of the downstream petroleum industry in the Volta Region to meet the growing petroleum needs of consumers, particularly those in underserved and hard to reach communities.
According to Mr Konu, the regional office would ensure that petroleum service providers comply with the various guidelines, rules and regulations set out for operators in the downstream petroleum industry.
The regional office would hold the various operators in the region to the prescribed standards on health, safety and environment management.
The regional office, Mr Konu indicated, will prioritise the needs of petroleum consumers and protect their various interests with respect to quality, quantity and pricing of petroleum products offered for sale by petroleum products retail outlets.
Mr Konu assured the Regional Minister that, the NPA and by extension the regional office operates a robust monitoring regime to protect the interest of petroleum consumers in the region.
Consequently, petroleum consumers should be rest assured that they are receiving the right quantity of petroleum products at the right price and at the right quantity at the various retail outlets they interface with.
In attendance at the meeting were Mr Augustus Awity, Chief Director of the Volta Regional Coordinating Council; Mr Michael Kwasi Dadza, Special Assistant to the Hon Minister and Mr Forster Honu, Public Relations Officer of the Volta Regional Coordinating Council.
