Dwindling margins due to deregulation exercise - Joseph Addae

Mr Joseph Addae, the General Manager of Radiance Petroleum, has expressed concern about the dwindling margins of Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) due to intense competition as a result of the deregulation exercise.

He said it was very difficult for them to break even, indicating that, initially government was subsiding the products but it had been halted now.

Mr Addae speaking at the Customer Week Celebration 2019, called on the regulator to look into the challenges, since it was threatening the survival of some of the players in the sector.

The Customer Service Week, which started from Monday October, 8 to Friday, October 11, is to celebrate customers for their continuous partnership and support and to also meet and interact with them and get to know how to improve some of the challenges.

The 2019 celebration is on the theme: "The Magic of Service" and it recognizes that good service is magical.

It can turn an unhappy customer into a satisfied long term customer.

Mr Addae said even though the deregulation to a large extent has been very good, the major challenge has to do with the dwindling margins and their operation margins.

"Recently, there was a meeting of all stakeholders by the National Petroleum Authority on how some of the challenges can be addressed," he added.

He said currently, the OMCs were now subsidising on behalf of the government and this was really creating a lot of operational difficulties for them, taking care of their employees, paying for securities, permits, among others.

Mr Addae said the companies were compelled to lower their prices, sometimes negative margins in order to remain competitive.

The General Manager said at a meeting they discuss various recommendations and "we are making sure the regulator and the various stakeholders are able to meet and discuss how to incorporate this in the current deregulation law".

"The key thing is that we want our margins to be reconsidered," he added.

He said statistics from the regulator indicates that the influx of illegal substances into the system has been reduced, and that was a good thing.

"Once we all get products from the approved sources, then we will be getting realistic prizes," he said.

Mr Edmund Y. Drah, the Marketing Officer, Radiance Petroleum, expressed gratitude to their customers for the confidence reposed in them to serve them effectively.

He said the companies appreciated criticisms as a way of identifying challenge in their services.

"It gives us the edge to improve upon our services. Most of the time, we want to listen and better serve our customers effectively," he said.

He said their customers should expect the best service from them, they make service their priority.