Govt clears GH¢115.9m premix fuel under-recovery arrears owed BDCs
The government has settled of GH¢115.9 million of outstanding premix fuel under-recoveries owed to Bulk Distribution Companies (BDCs), a move widely seen as critical to stabilising supply and restoring confidence in the premix system.
The payment, which covers under-recoveries accumulated between March and September 2025, is aimed at easing liquidity constraints faced by BDCs supplying subsidised premix fuel.
Government officials have said the arrears are a major contributor to shortages and price distortions at landing beaches across the country.
It is also in fulfilment of President John Dramani Mahama’s commitment to Ghana’s fishing communities.
“This payment is about keeping faith with our fisherfolk,” the Administrator of the National Premix Fuel Secretariat, Ebow Mensah, said.
He described the timely reimbursement as essential for the effective functioning of the subsidy programme.
Mr Mensah further stated that the combination of arrears clearance, automation, strengthened oversight of the Community Development Fund, and regular price reviews would help stabilise supply and ensure subsidised fuel reached genuine fisherfolk.
Automation reforms gain momentum
Alongside the clearance of arrears, the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture and the National Premix Fuel Secretariat reported steady progress on the Premix Fuel Automation System, designed to improve transparency, efficiency and accountability in premix fuel distribution.
Official data from the National Premix Secretariat show that 157 premix fuel sites have been completed nationwide, with 55 currently fully operational on the automated system.
An additional 38 sites are awaiting the installation of storage tanks before commissioning. Authorities project that by the end of the first half of 2026, the number of fully operational sites will rise to about 85, significantly expanding national coverage.
Safeguarding livelihoods
The Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Emelia Arthur, described the automation programme as central to safeguarding fisherfolk’s livelihoods.
“The premix fuel programme is a livelihood intervention, not just a subsidy,” she said, adding that automation reduced leakage and strengthened accountability at the landing-beach level.
Lasting relief, sustainability
Industry players have broadly welcomed the arrears payment, linking it directly to early improvements in supply and price enforcement.
They said the interventions marked a turning point, but insisted that sustained monitoring, strict enforcement and consistent supply would determine whether the reforms would deliver lasting relief for fishing communities across Ghana’s coastal and inland regions.
The President of the Canoe and Gear Owners Association of Ghana, Nana Kweigya, said fisherfolk were beginning to see changes.
“Our priority is availability and affordability. When supply fell, we were told it was due to accumulated under-recoveries. Now that the government has addressed that, we are seeing some increase in supply, and the price per gallon has come down,” he stated.
However, the President of the Canoe and Fishermen Council, Nana Joojo Solomon, cautioned that accessibility remained uneven.
He emphasised that while the payment strengthened BDCs’ capacity in a capital-intensive oil industry, many fishing communities still struggled to obtain daily access to premix fuel, a situation that needed to be addressed.
On behalf of the inland fishing communities, the President of the National Inland Canoe Fishermen Council, Jacob Kabore Tetteh Ageke, and its women’s wing, described the development as “very positive,” but appealed for improvements in distribution and an end to siphoning.
“Our lives on inland waters are woven around premix,” he said, stressing its role in health care, emergencies and daily survival.
