Mustapha Hamid – NPA Boss
Government has lifted a ban it placed on about 61 LPG refilling stations which were at the various stages of completion after 5 years.
The decision was arrived at Cabinet’s sitting held Wednesday, August 3, 2022.
The lifting follows an ongoing sit down strike by Tanker Drivers and LPG Marketing Companies over the ban on the stations.
In a statement, the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) said, “Cabinet has granted a special dispensation to allow the completion of the construction of stranded LPG stations across the country”.
The Authority has asked all Oil Marketing Companies and LPG companies to begin processes for approval.
“We are therefore requesting all OMCs/LPGMCs who were affected by this directive to resubmit their applications to the Authority”, the statement further stressed.
The Ghana National Tanker Drivers Association has raised concerns about its working conditions and treatment from the authority and the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company.
The drivers have also raised concerns with the seals and tracking devices that check the integrity of the fuel in the transportation process.
On Monday, the group began a strike and left some consumers unable to purchase LPG for their homes and business.
The drivers expanded their strike to cover the transport of other petroleum products like petrol, kerosene and diesel.
Following the Atomic Gas Explosion that killed at least 7 people and injured 132 in Accra, Government after a crucial cabinet meeting, announced a number of directives, about ten of them, geared towards sanitizing the fuel distribution and retail sector, to improve safety and save more lives.
One of the decisions, as approved by the President, was an immediate cessation of the construction of new fuel stations, to allow the NPA and its allied agencies, to carry out a proper audit of all the facilities.
The President also ordered the closure of all high-risk fuel stations within 30-days.
The President also ordered the implementation of the Cylinder Re-circulation Model of Liquefied Petroleum Gas distribution within a year.
The module, proposed by the NPA will ensure that LPG filling points are sited out of densely populated areas and commercial centres.
By Vincent Kubi