The Minister of Energy, Dr. Joe Oteng-Adjei, has warned that anybody caught smuggling fuel products to neighboring countries will be dealt with severely. As a result, the Ministry is collaborating with the Attorney General's Department to come up with appropriate punishment for culprits and serve as a deterrent to stop the practice. The security agencies have also been tasked to step up their operations on such criminals. "We will not sit down unconcerned to allow such criminal acts to continue whilst the nation suffers," he added. Ghana has the lowest petroleum prices in the sub-region. Some dealers take advantage of this to condone and connive with smugglers to smuggle the products to neighbouring countries including Togo, Burkina Faso, Mali, Benin and Niger to sell and make profit. Every 30,000 litres smuggled earns GH¢30,000 profit, close to a 100 percent margin on the sales price in Ghana, according to data from the Ministry, and this constitutes a disincentive to government to pursue low price policies in the sector. The Minister promised to collaborate with the Attorney General’s Department to arrive at the most effective measures to take. He dispelled allegations that the nation was faced with a crude oil shortage, stating that the national stock currently stands at 4.4 weeks and measures are ongoing to ensure continued supply. The Minister defended the recent up and down revisions of petroleum products prices, saying that it was not just a political gimmick. He said the price reduction, which was about four percent on top of the 17 percent reduction of the previous administration, constitutes a tax element. "This was done based on assessments made that the tax element could still be reduced further” he explained, adding that, it came at a cost of GH¢5 million every month - or five percent of government revenue, but this is being made up through other revenue measures. Source: B&FT