A star witness in the Atimpoku fuel contamination case has told an Accra High Court that he does not have evidence of any investigative report on the incident.
Mr John Delase-Michael, Station Manager of the Atimpoku branch of Vivo Energy Ghana Limited (formerly Shell Filling Station), said he was not informed about the outcome of investigations conducted after the incident.
“After investigations were conducted, I was not informed of the outcome. However, I believe the report would have been issued to the authority that invited the state institutions to carry out the investigations,” he said during cross-examination on Thursday.
Mr Delase-Michael also told the court that he had not presented any Assessment Impact Report from national institutions as evidence.
“I have not brought any report before this court,” he stated.
The witness was testifying in a case initiated by Mr Edmund Barwuah, a businessman, against Vivo Energy over alleged fuel contamination at its Atimpoku service station near the Adomi Bridge in the Eastern Region.
The plaintiff claims that the company sold petrol mixed with water to him and other unsuspecting customers.
According to the suit, Vivo Energy owed a duty of care to the public to ensure that fuel sold at its filling stations met the required standards but failed in that responsibility.
Mr Barwuah alleged that the company breached this duty for “selfish and unholy financial gain.”
He said he was among several customers who purchased contaminated fuel on August 28, 2022, an incident that led to the closure of the station by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA).
In its defence, Vivo Energy explained that heavy rainfall caused water to leak into the station’s underground fuel storage tank and subsequently apologised for the incident.
The witness told the court that following the occurrence, Vivo Energy’s head office invited the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), the Ghana National Fire Service, and the NPA to investigate.
However, he clarified that it was not within his authority to invite those institutions.
“It was not in my power to call the EPA and the other agencies to investigate the cause on that day,” he said.
Mr Delase-Michael further stated that no discussions had been held with him regarding any assessment report on the incident.
“That has not been mentioned to me,” he added.
He said he was unaware of any official guidelines to be followed during rainfall at the filling station.
The witness acknowledged the 2015 twin disaster at Kwame Nkrumah Circle, which involved flooding and a fuel explosion that claimed several lives due to water infiltration into an underground fuel tank.
However, he disagreed with suggestions by counsel that, despite that incident, Vivo Energy had taken its customers for granted.
GNA
