The Auditor-General has raised concerns over the National Petroleum Authority’s (NPA) monitoring and verification of a GH¢648.62 million Automatic Tank Gauging System (ATGS) contract awarded to Rock Africa Solutions Limited (RASL), following an audit that identified significant gaps in the functionality and maintenance of gauges installed at petroleum retail outlets across the country.
The concerns are contained in the Performance Audit Report on the Operations of the National Petroleum Authority, which examined various aspects of the NPA’s operations, including petroleum product transportation, fuel marking and the monitoring of retail outlets.
According to the report, the NPA paid RASL approximately GH¢648.62 million between January 2023 and May 2026 for the installation, operation and maintenance of Automatic Tank Gauges (ATGs).
The ATGs are designed to provide the NPA with electronic information on fuel levels and movements in storage tanks at retail outlets, enabling the regulator to monitor petroleum products and identify possible discrepancies between fuel supplied, stored and sold.
However, the Auditor-General questioned whether the NPA had adequate systems in place to verify that maintenance services reportedly carried out by RASL had actually been performed before payments were authorised.
The audit found that the NPA could not provide sufficient evidence of independent verification of maintenance activities undertaken by the service provider prior to payment.
The report also raised concerns about the operational status and coverage of the ATGS. Of the outlets covered by the project, 1,813 were automated, while 1,630 were only partially automated.
A further 23 outlets were reported to be down and required repairs, raising concerns about the extent to which system failures were being promptly addressed.
The Auditor-General noted that the effectiveness of an automated monitoring system depends not only on the installation of equipment but also on its continuous functionality, maintenance, data transmission and proper verification.
Where gauges are only partially functional or completely out of service, the NPA may have limited access to timely information needed to monitor fuel stock movements and reconcile petroleum deliveries and sales at individual retail outlets.
The findings therefore raise questions about whether the NPA has been able to obtain the full regulatory benefit expected from the substantial public expenditure on the ATGS project.
The audit’s concerns are particularly significant because the issue goes beyond the amount paid to the contractor. It also relates to whether the NPA could demonstrate, through proper documentation and independent checks, that the services for which it paid were delivered and maintained to the required standard.
For a contract involving hundreds of millions of Ghana cedis, effective contract management would require clear evidence of the services delivered, maintenance undertaken, equipment functionality and independent verification of the contractor’s performance.
The Auditor-General’s findings have consequently drawn attention to the need for stronger monitoring and verification mechanisms within the NPA to ensure that the country’s petroleum monitoring infrastructure remains functional and that public funds committed to the system achieve their intended regulatory purpose.
