87.3 Million Litres of Bad Fuel Sold: NPA Failed Quality Checks
The Auditor-General has uncovered major regulatory failures at the National Petroleum Authority, with a new report revealing that contaminated and unmarked fuel was sold to unsuspecting consumers across the country.
According to the 2025 audit covering January 2023 to May 2026, about 87 million litres of petrol entered the Ghanaian market without undergoing the mandatory marking and quality checks required by the NPA. The report further stated that some of the fuel distributed to retail stations was mixed with water, raising serious concerns about vehicle safety, consumer protection, and regulatory oversight.
The findings mean thousands of drivers, commercial transport operators, and businesses may have bought fuel that can damage engines, increase repair costs, and create safety hazards. Mechanics have already reported a rise in complaints related to engine knocking, stalling, and fuel pump failures in recent months, though a direct link is yet to be fully established.
Control failures identified
The audit blamed the lapses on weak monitoring at fuel depots, poor record-keeping, and inadequate testing protocols. It noted that NPA inspectors failed to conduct routine sampling and that documentation for fuel imports and distribution was incomplete or missing in several cases.
Specifically, the report found that:
- While the Quality Assurance Directorate and the UPPF Secretariat had control measures on paper — including weekly and monthly reconciliation using ERDMS data, verification of contractor submissions, and multi-level validation — these were not fully enforced.
- Neither the UPPF Secretariat nor the Quality Assurance Directorate checked whether the quantity loaded into BRVs and marked corresponded with the quantity distributed.
- The two bodies also did not reconcile data on petroleum products marked and distributed.
Financial impact
The Auditor-General concluded that “the NPA did not adequately carry out the marking and distribution of petroleum products. There were discrepancies between the volumes of petroleum products marked and those distributed.”
As a result, there was no assurance that the product was of the desired quality at the pumps and that the appropriate tax on the sale of the unmarked product was collected by the State. The report also cited a loss of about GH¢79 million to the UPPF.
Calls for accountability
The report puts fresh pressure on NPA Chief Executive, Godwin Edudzi Tameklo, and the authority’s quality assurance department. The Auditor-General recommended immediate disciplinary action against officers found culpable, a full overhaul of depot inspection systems, and the introduction of real-time digital tracking for fuel from the point of import to the pump.
Consumer advocacy groups have reacted angrily to the findings. They are demanding compensation for motorists affected by bad fuel and are calling for urgent reforms to restore confidence in the regulator. “People are paying high fuel prices and still getting contaminated products. The NPA must be held accountable,” one group stated.
Industry players say the revelations undermine public trust at a time when fuel prices remain a major burden for households and businesses. The Chamber of Petroleum Consumers has urged Parliament to summon NPA management to answer questions on how the breaches occurred and what measures will prevent a repeat.
The NPA is expected to present its response to Parliament this week. Energy analysts say if the recommendations are implemented — including tighter depot inspections, independent lab testing, and digital traceability — it could help restore credibility to Ghana’s downstream petroleum sector.
For now, motorists are being advised to buy fuel only from reputable stations and to report any suspicious quality issues to the NPA and consumer protection agencies.
Read parts of the report below:
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