Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, the Chief Executive Officer of National Petroleum Authority was on Thursday, elected as President of the Africa Refiners and Distributors Association (ARDA) at its annual conference in Cape Town, South Africa. ARDA is the association of all downstream petroleum operators in Africa and the voice for all downstream petroleum stakeholders. The organization is made up of members who share a common interest in matters pertaining to the refining, storage, distribution and regulation of petroleum products in Africa and has a membership of 74 organizations from 52 African countries. ARDA has its legal headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland and its operational headquarters in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire. The Executive Committee of the continental body approved the nomination of Dr. Abdul-Hamid as put forth by the Executive Secretary on Sunday 12th March 2023. The General Assembly, at its meeting of Thursday 16th February, 2023 unanimously endorsed the nomination to make Dr. Abdul-Hamid the President of ARDA for the period, 2023-2024. The Presidency of ARDA is for one year, and renewable for another year. In submitting Dr. Abdul-Hamid’s nomination, the Executive Secretary of ARDA, Anibor Kragha said, ‘Dr. Abdul-Hamid has brought a lot of dynamism and change to the petroleum downstream in Ghana.’ ‘The nominee’s integrity and honesty in public life are qualities that ARDA needs at this time’ he added. Before the vote by the General Assembly, the immediate past president of ARDA Madame Marieme Ndoye Decraene asked Dr. Abdul-Hamid to address the assembly and say why his nomination should be approved. Addressing the assembly, Dr. Abdul-Hamid said, ‘I have been Chief Executive of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) since July, 2021 and I believe that in my time at the NPA, we have put in place reforms that are transforming the landscape of the downstream petroleum industry in Ghana.’ ‘Secondly, I have been in leadership for most of my adult life, including serving as Minister for Information for the Republic of Ghana and also as Minister responsible for Inner City and Zongo Development. ‘I therefore believe that I can bring my wide experience in leadership to bear on ARDA and ensure its growth and development for the betterment of the downstream petroleum industry in Africa’ he added. When the question was put, Dr. Abdul-Hamid’s nomination was unanimously endorsed. Addressing the General Assembly, the newly sworn in President of ARDA, Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, promised to work closely with the Executive Secretary and the Abidjan secretariat to ensure the growth and development of ARDA. Dr. Abdul-Hamid thanked the out-gone President, Madame Marieme Decraene for her good work and promised to further improve the fortunes of ARDA. The next annual conference of ARDA takes place in March, 2024 in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire.
Source: Ghana News Agency
