Some disgruntled elements claiming to have seceded from the Association of Oil Marketing Companies (AOMC) to form a parallel group, have rather been caught in an act of treachery.
The initial attempt by the dissidents to gain credibility through claims that some thirty members of the AOMC have left to form a new association, simply fell flat.
The ridiculous part of the whole agenda has been the fact that those pursuing the retrogressive agenda have not been able to name those they claim have seceded from the AOMC to form the new group. It is instructive to know, however, that all the 160 plus AOMC members, are currently active in all activities of the association.
The protection of downstream players in the oil industry has the major preoccupation of the AOMC which is very credible and vibrant in ensuring that members are always having brisk business. It can, therefore, not be true that members of the AOMC are [not] protected by the association.
It is strongly suspected, therefore, that there are certain elements that were not comfortable with stringent measures being put in place by AOMC to sanitise the industry. It is equally important to note that AOMC has been at the forefront of making sure its members are fully engaged in issues relating to price-fixing, taxation and other compliance.
A question as to whether indigenous members of the association are treated fairly or not also has a simple answer, as a probe into the activities of AOMC reveals that there are only three expatriate member-companies of the association, so it cannot to be true that the association was not treating indigenous companies fairly.
Without any fear of contradiction, The Inquisitor has it that, out of the nine-member Executive Council of AOMC, only three are expatriates.
In recent times, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has been chasing some AOMCs over tax-related issues, and as a caring association, the AOMC has constantly been engaging the GRA, to ensure that its members are treated in a manner that would not make them suffer unduly. The state agencies in charge of the petroleum sector would easily attest to how the AOMC has been helping in streamlining the activities of the downstream operators. It seems some dishonest elements and vagabonds within the industry are not having field-day to perpetrate their dubious activities and are, therefore, out there peddling falsehoods about the AOMC.
In May this year, when the dissidents first announced the intention to secede, committed members of the AOMC in a meeting on June 3, 2021, expressed their disgust towards the move to break the AOMC front. The AOMC members present at that meeting, however, expressed satisfaction and trust in the leadership of AOMC and, commended it for their sterling leadership. Mr. Henry Akwaboah is the Chairman of the AOMC with Mr. Kwaku Agyemang Duah as the Industry Coordinator.
Through the hardwork of the AOMC, there have always been engagements between the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) and the Ministry of Energy, on how best players at the downstream could become effective, something the government has always appreciated.
Source: The Inquisitor
