The Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Marketing Companies Association claims it could lose GH60 million in investment in 100 LPG retail outlets that are still unfinished.
Following the 2017 atomic gas explosion, the government imposed a ban on new LPG retail points to allow for a thorough examination of all LPG outlets across the country.
Despite petitions from LPG marketers to the government and the National Petroleum Authority over the years, nothing has been done to lift the ban.
Mr. Gabriel Kumi, Vice-Chairman of the LPG Marketing Companies Association, told Citi News that his group is hoping for a positive response from the sector Minister soon.
They also petitioned the Minister to forward their proposal to cabinet for approval, he claims.
“We’ve been pleading with the NPA to consider granting us the permit so that we can finish these stations and get them up and running so that our members can recoup their investments, so that we can employ our youth and contribute to nation-building, and so that we can deepen the penetration of LPG consumption. We’ve been knocking on the doors of the NPA for the past year, but have yet to receive a positive response.”
“…so when the sector minister arrived at the seat, we decided to petition him to bring our concerns to the attention of cabinet. We did that about a month ago, and while we have yet to hear back from our Minister, we will continue to work with him fully.”
Shortly after the 2017 Atomic Junction Gas explosion, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo directed the implementation of the Cylinder Recirculation Module.
This meant that gas cylinders would no longer be filled at gas stations, but would instead be purchased from distributors who had already filled them when they ran out.
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Apart from job losses, the Ghana LPG Operators Association has repeatedly complained that proper stakeholder consultations were not conducted because they were not involved in the policy development.
CRM to provide jobs
Meanwhile, the National Petroleum Authority has stated that the Cylinder Recirculation Model would generate at least 4500 jobs across the region, in response to gas operators’ concerns.
Hassan Tampuli, the -then NPA CEO, predicted that when the module was completely implemented, it would generate employment for distributors and retailers at the numerous bottling plants.
About the fact that over 20 companies applied for the licenses, only two have been granted permission to construct and run LPG bottling plants in various parts of the country.
SOURCE: ATLFMONLINE
