Accra, June 17, GNA - CUTS Ghana, a research and advocacy policy think tank has urged government to, with immediate effect prosecute all Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) found culpable of defrauding consumers by the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA).
This, it said is to serve as deterrent to other OMCs from short-changing consumers by under-delivering and ensure that consumers got value for money.
A statement issued and signed by Mr Appiah Kusi Adomako, Country Director for CUTS and copied the Ghana News Agency said, all OMCs implicated in such illegal and malicious acts should be made to face the full rigor of the law.
“The acts of these filling stations are tantamount to theft which is a criminal offense which cannot be settled by imposing a fine. The criminal procedure Code (Act 30) of 1960 is clear on what needs to be done in such a case. By treating a criminal offence as a civil offense is not the best for the country”, it said.
While applauding the GSA for imposing fines on the implicated OMCs, the statement however underscored the need for authorities to do more by prosecuting these companies.
“Criminal acts are prosecuted by the Attorney General Department on behalf of the state and it is important for the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Standards Authority to establish a prima facie case against these companies. The matter should not be allowed to rest at the jurisdiction of Ghana Standards Authority alone. The law is clear on what needs to be done in this situation”, it said.
“If we were to compute how much these stations have been ripping consumers who buy fuel from them, it would upset this nation”, it added.
The statement also urged legislators to expedite the passage of the Consumer Protection Law to empower consumers to take on the right to bring actions in similar situation
It noted that the GSA recently implicated some fuel stations, such as Shell (Motorway Extension), Total (McCarthy Hill), GOIL (Mile 11); Frimps Oil (Tetegu junction), GOIL (Galilea), Frimps Oil (Spintex Road), Glory Oil (Spintex Road), Allied Oil (Sakaman), Shell (Amanfrom West), Goodness Energy (Kasoa) for cheating vehicle owners by under-delivering.
It therefore commended the GSA for undertaking these unannounced exercises and called for the exercise to be replicated in other parts of the country in order to ensure that consumers got value for money.
GNA
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