He explained that it was rather two nozzles of the station that were locked during a random exercise organised to check malpractices in the dispense of fuel to the general public.

Mr Appiah said it was also not true that a the Engen Fillng Station near the Bono Regional Coordinating Council had been closed since apart from the four nozzles that had been locked others were still operating.

He added that during its random checks it was found that one of the nozzles at the Goil Filling Station was over dispensing fuel to its customers to the detriment of the station.

What happened?

The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) locked 13 nozzles of three filling stations in the Bono Region for cheating consumers (under delivery).

The stations were Frimps at Penkwase, Eusbett Goil and Engen, all in Sunyani, the Bono Regional capital.

In the case of Frimps, all the seven nozzles functioning at the time of the visit by NPA officials were under delivering (short-changing).

Goil had two nozzles locked while Engen had four nozzles locked.

The exercise jointly undertaken by the Bono Regional Office and the Consumer Services and Security and Intelligence directorate, observed that some of the nozzles were over delivering, hence drew the attention of the managers of the stations.

Clarification

But speaking later to Graphic Online's correspondent in Sunyani, Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah about the incident, Mr Appiah stated, however, that all the eight nozzles of the Frimps Filling Station at Penkwase had been locked for under delivery of fuel to customers.

He said even though the Frimps Filling Station would not be allowed to sell fuel for some time, it could operate to sell other products such as lubricants to its customers.

Sanctions

Mr Appiah explained that the NPA would impose a fine of not less that GH¢5,000.00 per each nozzle that had been locked.

"Depending on the gravity of the situation at each of the filling stations, the managers would be made to sign a bond to be of good behaviour.

According to Mr Appiah officials of the oil marketing companies would had to let their mechanics to repair the locked nozzles after which the Ghana Standards Authority would conduct an inspection to verify their authenticity.

He said even after certification by the GSA, NPA would had to conduct its own checks before the locked nozzles were unlocked.

Advice

Mr Appiah advised drivers to be vigilant when they visited filling station by making sure the they got the value of the exact amount of money they requested for.

He said it was also important for drivers to prompt the attendants to make sure that served with the right product they requested for, that petrol and not diesel or diesel and not fuel.

Mr Appiah urged drivers to demand receipts from attendants of filling stations whenever they purchased fuel to make it possible to make a case when they were cheated.

He said report should be made within 48 hours since further delays would make it impossible for NPA to conduct investigations to ascertain whether a complaint had been cheated or not.

Interest of consumers

Mr Appiah said Section Two of the NPA Act, Act 691 (2005) mandated the authority to protect the interests of consumers and monitor the service providers.

He said it was on that basis that an the Bono Regional Office of the NPA organised an education programme for drivers and traders at the Nana Bosoma Market last Wednesday.

He said the exercise was also used to educate market women about the handling of gas cylinders and the use of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).