The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) has raised alarm over a growing trend of tanker drivers and their assistants abandoning the petroleum haulage sector for illegal mining activities, popularly known as galamsey.

According to the NPA, the shift is largely driven by poor earnings in the transport of petroleum products, which has led to a worrying loss of experienced drivers across the industry.

The issue was highlighted during a meeting with Parliament’s Energy Committee in Accra on Wednesday, April 22, where NPA Chief Executive Officer, Godwin Edudzi Tameklo, revealed that many drivers are struggling to retain their mates, especially when they travel to mining areas.

He explained that some assistants choose to stay behind in these communities because illegal mining offers quicker and more attractive financial returns.

According to him, the situation is affecting operations in the downstream petroleum sector, as experienced personnel continue to leave for more lucrative opportunities elsewhere.

Mr. Tameklo noted that the Authority is taking steps to address the challenge by introducing a new remuneration framework for tanker drivers.

He said the plan is to standardise salaries and improve working conditions in order to make the job more attractive and reduce the rate at which workers exit the sector.

The NPA believes the move will help stabilise the workforce and ensure the safe and efficient transportation of petroleum products across the country.

“Now, what we have realised is that there’s a high attrition rate of the experienced tanker drivers and mates. Anytime the tanker drivers come, they come with different mates, and the reason we found out was that when they go to the mining communities to discharge petroleum products to the mine, he loses one mate because, according to the mates, “oyam ahwiaa naa” is more profitable than being a driver’s mate.

“So the most experienced drivers, they are losing it from the downstream to other areas. So one of the things we are trying to do to resolve that problem is that we are coming up with a tanker drivers’ remuneration framework, where we would ensure standardised payment by way of salary to the tanker drivers.”