Premix fuel supply to go digital
The Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development has initiated processes to digitise the supply and distribution of premix fuel to fishermen as a measure to reduce the incidence of diversion and hoarding.
Premix fuel is a subsidised petroleum product central to artisanal fishers in the marine and inland fisheries sector to power their outboard motors for fishing expeditions.
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A pilot project has started at Nungua in the Greater Accra Region, with fishermen and canoe owners registered and provided with the electronic cards with which they could buy the product.
The initiative is in adherence to a government directive as part of efforts to digitise government business across the sectors.
The Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, Mrs Mavis Hawa Koomson, said under the fully automated premix fuel digitisation programme, fishermen would be required to use canoe identification cards to buy premix fuel after their cards were credited with the subsidy amount.
The digitisation initiative, the minister said, would be fully operational upon allocation of funds to the ministry under the 2022 Budget expected to be presented to Parliament this month to ensure transparency and block leakages in the premix fuel trade.
Committee
Mrs Koomson was speaking at the inauguration of an 11-member National Premix Fuel Committee in Accra yesterday.
The committee is chaired by Mr Dennis P. Quaicoe, who was nominated by the President, with Mr Kwesi Amo Himbson, Chief Director of the ministry, serving as some of the members.
Other members are Nana Owusu Acheampong, Mrs Sarah Buor Baah and Yves Hanson Nortey, all nominated by the minister.
The rest are Nana Abrokwa Asare, an administrator at the Premix Secretariat; Mr David Aidoo, a co-opted member; Mr Paul Bannerman, a representative of the Fisheries Commission; Mr Mike Abaka Edu, a representative of the National Canoe Fishermen Council; Mr Isaac Kofi Ampofo, a representative of the Ministry of Energy, and Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Dua of the Association of Oil Marketing Companies.
Mandate
The National Premix Fuel Committee, established in accordance with Legislative Instrument (LI) 2233 of the National Premix Fuel Committee Regulations, 2016, is mandated to facilitate the procurement and distribution of premix fuel to the fishing communities in Ghana.
However, upon the expiration of the term of office of the previous committee, the sub-sector has been supervised by the Premix Secretariat.
Between January 2017 and August 2021, Mrs Koomson said, 407,740,500 litres of premix fuel had been supplied to fishermen across the various landing beaches in the fishing communities.
That, she said, translated into 30,203 trucks of premix fuel to landing beach committees across the country, each truck having a 13,500-litre capacity.
