The Executive Director of the Centre for Environmental Management and Sustainable Energy (CEMSE), Benjamin Nsiah, has called on journalists to conduct thorough research and firsthand reporting on critical issues in the energy sector. 

Mr Nsia emphasised the need for accurate reporting, citing the complexities of the petroleum downstream sector, where issues such as welfare, inefficiencies, and the number of Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) require closer examination.

“I think for us to get accurate reporting, we need to do a lot of research. We should not always wait for a certain forum to be organised for us to have information or news to deliver to our audience.

“I believe that journalists must begin to first-hand report on critical issues in the energy sector,” he said.

Mr Nsiah was speaking at a capacity-building training for journalists organised by the Energy News Africa Ltd in Accra last Tuesday. It was on the theme: “Navigating the complexities of social media: Best practice for accurate energy reporting”.

Present at the workshop were, Former Board Chairman of Energy Commission and Former Managing Director of Tema Oil Refinery, Dr Kwame Ampofo, who chaired the occasion; Former Board Chairman of Grid Company Ltd, Ambassador Kabral Blay-Amihere.

Also present were, the CEO of the Chamber of Oil Marketing Companies (COMAC), Dr Rierson Oppong and the CEO of Wundef Media, Charles Wundengba.

The Executive Director of CEMSE expressed concern over the infiltration of more than 213 OMCs in the petroleum energy sector which was significantly more than countries like Uganda (60), Tanzania (less than 100), and Kenya and La Cote d’Ivoire (less than 120).

He questioned the rationale behind this disparity and encouraged journalists to investigate further to help in initiate conversation on these issues for policy formulation.

“If you go to the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) website, there are some OMCs registered but do not sell products, yet we still have their prices being quoted by NPA. So where do they get their products from?

“When media houses begin to dig deep into this sector of energy, I think that we may bring these issues out for policy redirection and policy reforms,” he added.

Mr Nsiah emphasised the importance of cutting down the number of refilling stations or filling stations, which could only be achieved through reforms.

He called on the new Managing Director of the NPA to initiate reforms and introduce Environmental Social Governance (ESG) to ensure efficiency and effectiveness in the sector.

Energy sector privatisation

The energy expert also highlighted the need for research in the power sector, particularly regarding privatisation.

He emphasised that solutions could only be found through in-depth research, citing the example of the Electricity Company of Ghana, which loses almost a billion Ghana cedis annually.

Mr Nsiah stressed that the energy sector's problems were rooted in the need for reforms, rather than privatisation.

He urged media houses to contribute to this agenda by providing accurate reportage of the sector.