The Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Mahama Ayariga has announced a planned nationwide inspection of fuel stations to inspect permits and ensure compliance.
According to the Minister, some of the fuel stations, once they have been approved to operate, add other buildings which were not agreed in the original permit, endangering the lives of the residents.
[contextly_sidebar id=”M5vMVlqk94q2Y2gtqq58wau2i90HR4dY”]”Some of the stations came to us asking for permits. We went, did the assessments and there was a basis for giving them the permits. The permits were issued. After the issuance of the permits they added on activities that were not permitted in the original permits that were issued to them,” Mr Ayariga revealed.
“So across the country we are going to go round all the stations, even those that we know have permits, to see if they have added on activities which endanger all of us who go to those stations to refuel. Some of them have added kitchens and restaurants, some have added places for roasting kebab and guineafowl, and they are using LPG receptacles there that endanger all of us,” he noted.
The move comes in the wake of Wednesday’s inferno which razed the GOIL fuel station at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra to the ground, killing over 100 people.
The Environment Minister made the comments when he visited the site of a fuel station that had been demolished at Mile 7 in Achimota.
Mahama Ayariga backed the demolition of the fuel station, despite protests from some people at the station who insists thier facility is not a waterway.
Fuel stations can be sited near public places
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has described the siting of fuel stations in densely populated areas as commonplace.
According to the EPA the location of fuel station in communities is aimed at making their services accessible to the public and relocating them was out of the question.
By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana