The LPG Marketers have long expressed objections to the policy which is supposed to be in full flow by November 2018, according to a Presidential directive.

[contextly_sidebar id=”oF6sffOV3dcpln1TdrEaRiRscJRY3oZK”]The model involves the filling of LPG cylinders at designated refilling plants before distribution to customers at retail outlets.

The model, proposed by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), is also a safety measure that will ensure that LPG filling points are sited out of the range of densely populated areas and commercial centres following a number of gas explosions that have claimed multiple lives.

LPG Marketers have consistently voiced their concerns with the policy, which they believe can collapse their businesses and result in job losses.

The Association has now issued a final notice to the government over its concerns, with the threat of legal action if it does not hear from the Energy Minister by Wednesday.

LPG marketers granted ‘too much room’

But speaking on Eyewitness News, Mr. Amin Anta retorted that “the fact that we buy LPG from the LPG marketing companies should not be the reason for them to hold all of us to ransom because a letter they have written to a minister has not been responded to.”

Mr. Amin Anta also feels that the government has “given [the association] too much room as far as their concerns are important to the implementation of the national LPG promotion policy.”

The LPG Marketers Association recently temporarily suspended operations nationwide, and some observers described their action as an attempt to blackmail the government.

Policy here to stay

Mr. Amin Anta noted that the government has been engaging the association over the past three months and at the last meeting between the two parties, “we all agreed that the policy has come to stay. The policy has been approved by Cabinet. It has been announced as part of a directive the president issued.”

“So as far as we are concerned, we can’t do anything about the policy,” Mr. Amin Anta stressed, and insisted that the “policy has taken care of everyone,” in attempts at compromise.

“I assured that we are going to set up an implementation committee and they [the LPG marketers] will have a place on that implementation committee. Therefore if they have input to make on how we can effectively implement the policy, if they have concerns about how we can effectively implement the policy, they should go to the implementation committee and ensure that they addressed there.”

Life after the policy

The Energy Ministry and the NPA have noted that existing LPG stations will be classified into low and high risks based on their deficiency in meeting required safety standards in an ongoing NPA’s Risk Assessment.

The LPG stations found to be high risk will be converted into filled cylinder retail and distribution outlets while those found to be low risk will be made into a dedicated to the supply of gas.

The de-commissioned high-risk filling stations will be adequately compensated after an assessment has been thoroughly carried out by a qualified asset valuation expert.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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