Fuel truck owners are forced to put a Global Positioning System (GPS) on their vehicles after the Petroleum and Energy Authority made it a mandatory requirement to undertake comprehensive monitoring work.
According to the previous deadline of January 8, 2023, the majority of fuel trucks have the navigation system installed, with the remaining 17 percent, of which 95 percent are operational, having yet to install the equipment.
Sahrela Abdullahi, the Authority’s director general, stated that the remaining 626 of the 3,500 vehicles were issued an ultimatum in February to install the technology by March 9, 2023.
“We had agreed that the oil companies would install the technology and charge the truck owners a service fee. GPS installation businesses also employ this mode of operation,” she stated.
As per a member of the management team of the Ethiopian Bulk Fuel Transport Owners Association, the Authority is solely working with the companies on the GPS issue.
“The firms with the largest fleets have completed the GPS installation on their trucks. Smaller businesses must still be struggling to meet the deadline,” he stated.
According to Sahrela, the oil corporations, which have their own GPS control systems that they run internally, will provide the Authority with a code that would allow them to track the vehicles’ movements. The Authority has 12 employees who have been trained to monitor using the various systems used by oil firms.
The Information Network Security Administration (INSA) is also working on a system for the Authority that will integrate all of the companies’ systems as well as truck surveillance on a single screen.
“With this system, the Authority will have a single point of control over all of the trucks with a few staff,” Sahrela explained. “We require a system that enables us to monitor all vehicle movements on a single screen.”
Notwithstanding the fact that the firm alters the GPS systems, Sahrela says the system will allow the Authority to track vehicle movement in real time.
