The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) has expressed concern over a growing number of tanker drivers and their assistants leaving the petroleum haulage sector for illegal mining activities, commonly known as galamsey.

The Authority says the trend is being driven largely by low earnings within the sector, resulting in a steady loss of experienced personnel and creating operational challenges in the transportation of petroleum products.

The issue was brought to light during a meeting with Parliament’s Energy Committee in Accra on Wednesday, April 22, where NPA Chief Executive Officer Godwin Edudzi Tameklo highlighted the scale of the problem.

He explained that tanker drivers are increasingly unable to retain their assistants, particularly when delivering fuel to mining communities, where illegal mining offers more immediate financial rewards.

“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,” he said.

Mr Tameklo added that the situation is gradually weakening the sector’s workforce.

“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.”

The NPA believes that introducing a structured pay system and improving working conditions will help retain skilled workers, stabilise the workforce, and support the safe and efficient distribution of petroleum products nationwide.