The Executive Chairman of the Petroleum Regulatory Agency ( PRA) Brima Baluwa Koroma has warned oil Dealers who fail or deliberately refuse to sell petroleum products at the reduced price, risk having their license revoked or their Operations suspended until further notice.

He urged all operators including Oil marketing companies and dealers to serve the nation and operate in accordance with their license which is ensuring the availability of the product not hoarding or creating artificial scarcity.

The Executive Chairman of the Petroleum Regulatory Agency. (PRA) Brima Baluwa Koroma, has warned oil dealers who fail or deliberately refuse to sell petroleum products at the reduced price, risk having their license revoked or their operation suspended until further notice. He urged all oil operators including oil marketing companies and dealers to serve the nation and operate in accordance with their license which is ensuring the availability of the product and not hoarding or creating artificial scarcity of fuel. His plea came after the government announced the reduction of pump prices of fuel from Le22 to Le20 for all petroleum products. Chairman Baluwa Koroma said that the move by the Regulatory Authority to get access to the international referencing price, PLATTS in 2019 has enabled the Agency to monitor and forecast a real time global price of oil commodities.

He stated that though the global oil prices dropped by 7% Sierra Leone responded by 9% reduction. This he said is in line with the Agency’s commitment to review pump prices with accuracy, fairness and transparency. “Some people always have the wrong notion that when prices go up, they never come down in Sierra Leone. But contrary to this perception, this is the fourth time this administration is reducing pump prices. At the moment there is no government participation in
petroleum value chain ranging from importation on to retail outlets. The government does not determine oil prices. Our responsibility is to regulate the entire downstream petroleum activities by ensuring all license holders abide by the petroleum laws and regulations. Most of our taxes have been waved to stabilize the pump prices, therefore we expect every sector player to do the needful by operating fairly”

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he encouraged. On the importation of products, he said that even though the sector is being dominated by private investors, the government has been working hard to support Oil Marketing Companies during these shocks as fuel products touch on every sector.. “We cannot afford to let the people face the full effects of the global shock. That is why we are doing everything to support the sector, including foreign currency financing” he said .

Chairman Baluwa Koroma noted new entrants were facing a series of hurdles in the past. But the leadership of His Excellency, President Julius Maada Bio has made the sector investment-friendly which has seen the emergence of new players, gas stations and additional petroleum jetty” We want to make Sierra Leone a marketing hub by encouraging existing and new players to punch above their weight to invest in a refinery, storage and other opportunities,” he said