Until oil was discovered in Nigeria in 1956, with actual production starting in 1958, Africa’s most populous nation used to be one of the peaceful countries on planet earth. Though the country is currently not at war, it has gone through the turbulent times in the past, including the infamous Biafra War, which had its roots in oil production even though it was widely believed to be a tribal war.
Corruption, which is borne out of the desire to make quick money, has forced some unscrupulous Nigerians to resort to all manner of tricks to steal and make money from oil. They do so by either killing or maiming people, both on land and on high seas. It was on the basis of this that when oil was struck in Ghana, the authorities were warned to take a cue from what was happening in Nigeria, and draft policies that will avoid such criminal conducts in Ghana.
Regrettably, though the government listened to the concerns of the people and came out with good oil laws to manage our oil sector, a criminal conduct, which is common in Nigeria, is being imported into the country, which could erode the gains being made in the oil sector.
According to a story we have carried at our business page today, some Ghanaians have also started adopting this criminal behaviour of stealing fuel, which quality standard is not guaranteed, from the high seas and bringing to the shore to sell to unsuspecting consumers.
According to the story, a tanker vessel will come and dock at the high seas. The fuel dealers, masquerading as fishermen, would then sit in their canoes, powered by two outboard motors popularly known ‘Dendeys’, and sail to the spot to draw the fuel from the tanker vessel into drums and bring them to the shore.
Though these fuels have not been tested by the Ghanaian authorities to determine its quality, they are sold to some of the fuel stations, which are obviously partners in the crime, for onward retail to the public.
The Chronicle understands that taxes and levies constitute about 47% of the fuel price build up. This means these criminals make millions of dollars from their operations on a daily basis, because they do not pay any taxes on the product before being smuggled onto the market.
At the meeting between the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA), the Head of Marine Police, DCOP Iddi Seidu, and the Western Naval Command, Commodore E.A. Kwafo, Acting Flag Officer Commanding at the Western Naval Command, the latter is reported to have painted a painfully bleak picture of the risks posed by the ‘Dendeys’.
“We are rearing a monster which will one day consume all of us,” he said tersely. Commodore Kwafo said the owners of these boats, if not stopped, may become emboldened and could start using their boats to cart other illicit products such as weapons and drugs into the country.
In our view, the fear expressed by the Naval Commander is a serious matter that must not be swept under the carpet, but rather given proper attention by the government.
It will be highly irresponsible for the authorities to assume that these illegal fuel dealers are harmless and cannot, therefore, resort to the smuggling of drugs and weapons if the opportunity avails itself.
As we had earlier elucidated this how it started in Nigeria before the situation got out of hand. In Nigeria and some parts of the West African coastline, these illegal fuel dealers have managed to acquire wealth, to the level where they can even buy sophisticated weapons to match what have been provided state security agencies.
As the Akan adage goes, when your friend’s beard catches fire, you better fetch water and place it beside yours, because you don’t know when yours will also catch the fire.
Nigeria is spending millions of dollars to fight illegal oil dealers and piracy. If our people are also trying to emulate this bad example, we had better crush them at the initial stages, instead of waiting for their illegal trade to bloom before we start fighting them.
Whilst the GMA is doing its possible best to get relevant laws that will enable it to destroy these canoes being used in the illicit trade when arrested, we are advising the government to well equip our Navy to deal with the situation.
The oil business all over the world is done by cartels whose prime interest is to make money through fair or foul means. Ghana must, therefore, be a step ahead of them before they make any attempt to introduce this kind of oil business into this country of ours.
The post Editorial: Illegal oil business is not pleasant news; Mr President, please act fast! appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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