Major reforms are taking place in the Petroleum Regulatory Agency (PRA) as new guidelines have been developed by management.
The construction of gas station, importation of petroleum product, traders’ licence, transhipment and bulk storage are key development strides and reforms being undertaken by PRA.
The agency is set up by to regulate, monitor and oversee the downstream petroleum industry in Sierra Leone for growth, efficiency and stakeholder satisfaction.
In its quest to achieve its mission, the agency has enhanced its visibility by opening up the market space for new players to participate in the industry thereby reducing the current monopoly and inefficient governance.
Apart from the reform mentioned above, the agency continues to meet and beat its revenue target for the current years.
Petroleum revenue improves from Le473Bn in 2018 to Le 743Bn in 2019 contributing about 15 per cent of domestic revenue.
It has also identified other revenue sources including onshore and offshore bunkering, transhipment, telecoms and inspection fees.
An effective monitoring system has also been introduced by the agency through the appointment of district and field monitoring officers known as District Monitoring Officers (DMO’s) and Field Monitoring Officers (FMO’s) in the fourteen districts in Sierra Leone.
The monitors support PRA by monitoring, sensitising and enforcing the agency’s mandate in terms of price uniformity, anti-smuggling, hoarding, health safety and environment among others.
FMO’s have ensured daily installations petroleum stock monitoring in all gas and filling stations countrywide.
Dedicated regional managers have also been appointed to coordinate the activities of the district monitors.
The agency’s effective monitoring system has recorded improved compliance with petroleum laws and revenue.
A system known as District Sales Returns is now in place, according to PRA officials, that takes stock of monthly sales per district to ensure proper and fair redistribution of petroleum product across the country.
As part of its key reforms and improved petroleum governance system in the country, PRA has not lost sight of petroleum pricing formulae as another key reform to ensure an efficient, transparent and fair petroleum pricing review.
A committee has been established to review the current obsolete pricing model with a revised trigger mechanism and review period to mitigate the impact of sharp and spiralling increase in international oil prices.
The enhanced price formulae will be introduced by PRA this current year and the committee has presented a proposal ahead of hiring of an independent consultant.
Owing to the agency’s renewed commitment to the regulation of the industry, it has recovered strategic stock fund amounting to Le 2Bn held at the Sierra Leone Commercial Bank and full value transferred to the Consolidated Revenue Fund.