President Akufo-Addo visiting one of the victims of the gas explosion at the Ridge Hospital
Government has placed a temporary ban on the construction of new fuel and gas stations across the length and breadth of the country.
It follows the horrible gas explosion at Atomic Junction in Accra on the evening of Saturday, October 7, 2017, that took the entire nation by storm, claiming seven lives with 132 others sustaining various degrees of injury.
The decision was taken after a Cabinet meeting late Thursday evening.
After several hours of meeting behind closed door, President Akufo-Addo, on the advice of Cabinet, directed the immediate stoppage, until further notice, of the construction of facilities intended for use as gas or petroleum retail stations.
This was contained in a statement issued and signed by the Minister for Information, Mustapha Hamid.
The president also directed, “Henceforth, the Cylinder Recirculation Model of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) distribution must be implemented.
“This model means that LPG Bottling Plants will be sited away from congested commercial and population centres and will procure, maintain and fill empty cylinders to be distributed to consumers and households through retail outlets. Low risk stations will be designated for the supply of gas to vehicles.”
The exercise is expected to be completed within one year.
Directives
In the interim, President Akufo-Addo has, among other things, directed the immediate inspection of all gas stations and the vigorous enforcement of existing regulations by the National Petroleum Authority as part of measures to give comfort to and ensure the safety of citizens.
He has also asked for a review of the current licensing regime to ensure that only those with demonstrable capacity and competence engage in the LPG distribution business and the institution of mandatory training and certification of the staff of regulators, Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) and LPG Marketing Companies to ensure the safe handling of LPG.
Going forward, he has also ordered for a review of the safety protocols along the entire value chain through the combined efforts of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Ghana Standards Authority (GSA), Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), Town and Country Planning Department of the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation and the Factories Inspectorate Department of the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations.
The president has also directed the deployment of a taskforce, within 30 days, to assess the risk that the current LPG infrastructure poses in terms of public health and safety.
High risk stations would be immediately closed down in accordance with the relevant law and without regard to any political or special interests, whilst low risk stations will be designated for the supply of gas for vehicles with improved safety standards.
President Nana Akufo-Addo has further directed the immediate incorporation of standards and guidelines developed by Ghana Standards Authority on the handling, storage and distribution of LPG and other petroleum products as technical regulations to strengthen the enforcement regime.
Meanwhile, the National Petroleum Authority has been instructed to recruit 200 safety auditors to join the staff of the Factories Inspectorate Department of the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations to check regularly on all stations to ensure full compliance with safety standards and practices.
The Fire Service and the Police Service have also been asked to expedite action on ongoing investigations.
Government said that “any operator or regulatory official, against whom any act of criminal negligence is established, will face the full rigors of the law,” insisting, “The safety of citizens is the paramount objective of government; the president will take all necessary steps to ensure that the citizens are safe.”
By Charles Takyi-Boadu, Presidential Correspondent