Fuel arrives in Wa after weeks of acute shortage

A tanker carrying fuel belonging to Union Oil arrived in Wa on Tuesday after a week of acute fuel shortage that stalled the operations of commercial transport and other motorists in the Upper West Region.

Fuel station operators in the Wa Municipality said the shortage was due to their inability to access fuel from Buipe in the Northern Region.

The situation forced many motorcycle riders in the Municipality to abandon their bikes and resort to walking to carry out their daily activities.

Some transport operators who ply routes in the southern part of the country like Kumasi were compelled to stock extra fuel in their vehicles from their points of departure for their return journeys.

Most motor bike riders in the Municipality, who could afford to, also bought petrol at abnormal prices from the black market.

Mr. Bright Salia, Managing Director of the Maalma Fuel station in Wa attributed the shortage in the Municipality to the Tema Oil Refinery’s (TOR) inability to discharge the fuel at Buipe for delivery to the Northern regions.

Mr. Salia noted that TOR's inability to supply enough fuel to Buipe, resulted in rationing of what was in stock at the depot by officials at Buipe to the three northern regions, hence the shortage of fuel in the area.

He said the situation was seriously affecting their operations, even though they expected to receive their consignment from Buipe soon.

Most drivers could not tell when the acute fuel shortage would end but added that they were not contemplating any increase in transport fares.

They stated that fares would only increase when general prices of petrol and diesel go up, but for now they would maintain their old charges.