The National Premix Fuel Secretariat will embark on a nationwide premix accountability drive in early next year.
This follows the successful pilot of a “Premix Accountability Series” conducted at selected landing beaches in Sekondi, New Takoradi, and Abuesi in the Western Region last Tuesday.
Premix Accountability Series
The Premix Accountability Series is a community-focused public engagement initiative designed to strengthen transparency in the management of premix fuel, particularly the 53 per cent community fund mandated under L.I. 2233.
Premix fuel is a public subsidy with a clear social purpose: to reduce the cost of artisanal fishing and protect fishing livelihoods.
The margins from premix sales are governed by law, with 53 per cent legally reserved for fishing communities for development projects.
Under L.I. 2233, Landing Beach Committees (LBCs) serve as trustees, not owners, of both the subsidised fuel and the proceeds arising from its sale.
The law requires that the community’s 53 per cent share be paid into a designated community bank account and applied to projects that benefit the wider fishing community, not individuals or factions.
However, weak local accountability, poor record-keeping, limited community information, and the politicisation of LBC structures have, in some cases, undermined trust in the premix system.
Rationale
Speaking at the pilot engagements with fisherfolk, the Administrator of the National Premix Fuel Secretariat, Ebow Mensah, said the initial engagements in Sekondi, New Takoradi, and Abuesi represented only a small fraction of the more than 300 landing beaches supplied with premix fuel across the country.
“This is not the end of the accountability series,” he said, adding, “We have only done three communities. Come early 2026, we are going to ensure that all metropolitan and municipal chief executives are notified so that this happens across the country.”
He explained that metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives were legally mandated to oversee the operations of Landing Beach Committees and were expected to play a stronger role in enforcing transparency.
Mr Mensah said the Premix Accountability Series provided a platform for LBCs to publicly account to their communities.
He stated that the series also created space for fisher folks, residents, traditional leaders and local authorities to ask questions, verify records and reaffirm that the premix system existed to deliver visible, shared development outcomes.
LBCs to render accounts from 2017 to 2024
The Premix Administrator warned committees that operated between 2017 and 2024 but failed to render accounts to their communities, to prepare to do so.
“For those that have not engaged their communities or accounted for how the community funds were used, we will deal with them,” Mr Mensah said, adding that chief fishermen would be empowered to demand accountability at the local level.
Operational challenges
On operational challenges, Mr Mensah cited intermittent premix shortages, often linked to liquidity constraints faced by bulk distribution companies, as well as poor record-keeping at some landing beaches.
To address this, he explained that the Secretariat had introduced a Premix Fuel Returns Booklet to standardise the documentation of fuel receipts, sales, profits and the 53 per cent community share.
“This is basic arithmetic,” he said, pointing out that “we believe everyone can do it with the right tools. That is why we have introduced a single booklet and logbook system to track all transactions.”
He expressed optimism that consistent accounting and public reporting would strengthen confidence in the premix system and protect the long-term sustainability of the subsidy.
Caution to LBCs
The Premix Administrator expressed satisfaction with reports from the LBCs at the landing beaches in Sekondi, New Takoradi and Abuesi on funds accrued to the community account for 2025.
The Sekondi Landing Beach Committee raised GH¢126,000 towards community development within ten months, according to figures presented during the Premix Accountability Series in the Western Region.
