LPG operators in Kumasi have warned government to discontinue with the implementation of the Cylinder Recirculation Model (CRM) policy or face their wrath.
The operators want government to rather institute safety measures in regulating their activities instead of taking over 7,000 of them out of business.
Speaking to 3news.com, spokesperson for the Ghana LPG Operators Association Nanaba Collins Osei Tutu said the CRM policy is designed to deprive them of their economic rights.
“An estimated number of 7,000 jobs will be lost if the CRM policy is implemented,” he said.
“The CRM is directly inconsistent with the government’s policy to support the private sector to create jobs”.
Nanaba Osei Tutu said the policy cannot prevent gas explosion, thus, the need for government to reconsider its decision to implement it.
“Almost all the major gas explosions recorded in the country occurred at the discharging points. The Ghana National Fire Service should therefore be supported to continue its supervisory role during the gas discharging process at filling plants.
“Again, regulatory bodies must be made to step up their monitoring and capacity building roles through enforcement of safety protocols and standards and execution of well-tailored training programmes”.
The implementation of the CRM was proposed by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) to ensure that LPG filling points are sited out of densely populated areas and commercial centres.
These plants will procure, brand, maintain and fill empty cylinders to be distributed to consumers and households through retail outlets and stations, deemed to be low risk, after government’s assessment.
The policy was developed in 2012, but it could not be immediately implemented.
However, following a massive gas explosion at Atomic Junction in October 2017, President Nana Akufo-Addo issued a directive for the policy to be implemented.
By Ibrahim Abubakar|3news.com|Ghana