The Mfantseman Municipal Assembly in the Central Region, has shut down six fuel stations at Mankessim, as a proactive measure to prevent any disaster.
The operation, which started on Monday and saw the closure of Shell filling station in the area, is to be replicated in all communities in the Municipality.
Speaking to Citi News, the Municipal Engineer, William A. Kpoti, said the safety exercise is meant to keep standards in the Municipality following the gas explosion in Accra over the weekend.
He added that a committee has been formed which is spearheading the programme.
“Some of the fillings stations have had their fire service permits expired for up to two or three years. Others have their permits with the EPA, expired so we have to close them down. Some have not been paying their property rates as well as their business operating permits. Yesterday [Monday], we closed down the GOIL filling station which is a state company; they had to rush down from Cape Coast to furnish us with all their documents before they were allowed them to continue their operations.”
“We close down Shell; the committee went through their documents before they were allowed to continue operations,” he added.
There have been several of such instances in the past where supervisory agencies close down fuel stations over some infractions, yet few days after, the affected stations are allowed to operate again.
Mr. Kpoti promised that, their move “is not a nine-day wonder,” saying “we are going to maintain it in order to have sanity in our municipality.”
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By: Joseph Ackon-Mensah/citifmonline.com/Ghana