CAD Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) filling station, was allegedly shut down for non-compliant to safety regulations and exposing residents to danger.

This follows persistent complaints and petitions from residents to the effect that the gas station did not have the requisite permit to operate, and that it is also sited in a residential area.

The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) and Chairman of MUSEC, Dr. Prince Kwakye Afriyie, who led the exercise, told Citi News the decision was taken at its meeting on the 19^th of October, 2017, and duly communicated to the management of the station.

He said the Assembly had written on several occasions to managers of the facility to provide them with all the relevant documents, covering their operations for the necessary safety assessment to be conducted, but regretted that their request received no response.

“The MUSEC meeting we held on Thursday, I promised the people of Wenchi that this particular gas station they are complaining is under our consideration. It started about two months ago and has nothing to do with what happened in Accra. We could have taken this decision a week ahead before the unfortunate disaster in Accra, but we were waiting for documentation from managers of the station but they failed to provide them hence our decision halt their operations.”

Dr. Kwakye Afriyie instructed managers of the facility to liaise with the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Town and Country Department and other relevant organizations to come up with a schedule to sell the remaining gas available, and afterwards seize to receive supply until they provide their documents for inspection.

“They are to liaise with the relevant stakeholders from tomorrow [Wednesday], and come out with a timetable to sell the residual gas in their tanks, and after that they are not allowed to bring in any gas into Wenchi until they bring all their documents to the satisfaction of MUSEC, and then we will contact the necessary regulatory bodies to take a final decision about the location of this particular gas station,” he emphasized.

Citi News‘ checks at the Assembly revealed that, the (Plot No. 240 C) on which the facility is sited, was acquired by one Charity Addo Donkor.

The owner was given a permit by the Building inspectorate and Environmental Health Unit of the Wenchi Municipal Assembly to put up the gas station on 21^st March, 2016.

Actions against fuel stations

These actions and inspections have become necessary, following the Atomic Junction explosion that killed 7 people and injured eight (8) over 100 others.

As a result, government after a crucial cabinet meeting, ordered that all high-risk fuel stations be closed down to allow for a proper safety audit.

The President, Nana Akufo-Addo, also ordered the cessation of all facilities being constructed to serve as fuel stations across the country to allow authorities carry out the needed safety audit.

The President also ordered that the cylinder re-circulation policy be implemented within a year, a decision that has angered LPG Markers who closed down their facilities for less than a week in protest against the measures which they consider knee-jerk and a threat to their investments.

As part of the cylinder re-circulation policy, consumers will buy cylinder bottles already filled with gas, and will not need to refill themselves at designated stations.

21 LPG stations shut down, more to follow – NPA

The National Petroleum Authority (NPA), has said it was already taking serious action against some fuel stations, before the new directives from President Nana Akufo-Addo, as it had already shut down 21 Liquefied Petroleum Gas filling stations across the country for failing safety standards.

Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show, the Chief Executive Officer of NPA, Hassan Tampuli, said they hope to sustain the momentum in ensuring safety regulations are adhered to.

Construction of fuel stations ongoing despite President’s order

Construction works are ongoing at some of petrol stations in the Ashanti Region, despite a presidential fiat ordering the temporary cessation of the construction of facilities intended for use as gas or petrol/diesel retail outlets.

Citi News sighted construction work vigorously ongoing at a Unity Oil filling station, located at Krofrom, a suburb of Kumasi in the Ashanti Region.

The supervisors said they were not aware of any directive to stop work, and its management maintained that all requirements for the construction had been met.

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By: Mashoud Kombat/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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According to the ministry, this will ensure that all safety and health standards at fuel stations are adhered to, to prevent explosions.

Speaking to the media on the sidelines of an event to inaugurate the new board of the Ghana National Gas Company Limited, Sector Minister, Boakye Agyarko, said the safety auditors will also make sure all safety equipment are in place.

[contextly_sidebar id=”keqBbhGKj14raiG8Rn81faejoK6lPVQK”]“This explosion is one too many and we need to bring it to a screeching halt. There are a lot of things that we are going to do…we will enforce all safety and health standards. NPA, which is the regulator, is now going to be allowed to hire 200 auditors who will go from station to station to make sure that safety standards are complied with, that safety equipment are all in place,” he added.

The Energy Minister also called for the introduction of the gas re-circulation policy which has been put on hold following agitations from stakeholders.

“…We have to come to the sensible and logical position of having bottling plants well under control, both technical and safety, so that they rather do the filling and bring to us in our homes. At the end of the day, what are citizens looking for, gas in their cylinders. If it’s done offsite under the strictest of safety conditions, I believe we will spare this nation the harrowing agony,” he added.

Fuel explosions in Ghana

According to the Finer Newspaper, over 250 people have perished in the last ten years in explosions recorded at various petrol/diesel and gas stations across the country.

Last Saturday, seven people died  whereas 132 others sustained varied degrees of injury following an explosion at a gas filling station at Atomic Junction in Accra.

Government has subsequently promised to enforce the necessary laws regulating the sector.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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Chief Executive Officer of the Authority, Hassan Tampuli, who made the revelation on the Citi Breakfast Show on Monday, said the letter was given to MANSCO through the Oil Marketing Company (OMC) that supplied it with LPG, Hills Oil.

[contextly_sidebar id=”1v4cdIJhcXTwYU0NyAMmlcqRhTwDlNdP”]“In the case of this particular station, we did the monitoring and inspection in April 2017, so it was part of Greater Accra inspection and monitoring exercise. We wrote to them a letter which was sent to them on 10^th of July. What the letter said was that, we’ve done monitoring and inspection of your station and we come to the realization that they fell short of a number of things and we catalogued them. One of the things we said was that, their forecourt was too busy of activities which includes taxi rank, food vendors among others. So we thought that, that was unsafe so they should put in place the necessary safety measures,” Mr. Tampuli told Bernard Avle on the Citi Breakfast Show.

Mr. Tampuli said his outfit also wrote a letter to six other filling stations that had questionable safety measures.

Reading excerpts of the letter sent across, the NPA boss said: “…the exercise revealed that 7 of the LPG filling gas stations at Adjei Kojo, Tema community 9, Ada Bedeku, Kobekrom, Ada Kasei, Atomic Junction and Oyibi did not fully satisfy the standards of operation prescribed by Authority…You are required to address the identified shortcomings by close of business Monday, 4^th September 2017, and notify the authority for an inspection of the seven LPG plants.”

He also said three demands were made to MANSCO.

“First of all, we said there was too much activity on the forecourt especially around the cylinder filling and auto gas area. Secondly, more safety signs should be provided at the facility and thirdly, customers should be prevented from assessing the filling area, a separate waiting area must be provided,” he said.

7 die in Atomic junction gas explosion

About seven people perished, and 132 sustained varied degrees of injury when the MANSCO gas station exploded.

The incident has however ignited pressure on supervisory state bodies to put the various filling stations in country under constant check to forestall such explosions in future.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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The post We wrote to MANSCO Gas station on safety lapses – NPA appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Mariam Yahya Ibrahim was charged with apostasy as well as adultery for marrying a Christian man, something prohibited for Muslim women to do and which makes the marriage void.

The final ruling will be announced on Thursday. Ibrahim’s case was the first of its kind to be heard in Sudan.

Young Sudanese university students have mounted a series of protests near Khartoum University in recent weeks asking for an end to human rights abuses, more freedoms and better social and economic conditions. The authorities decided on Sunday to close the university indefinitely.

Western embassies and Sudanese activists sharply condemned the accusations and called on the Sudanese Islamist-led government to respect freedom of faith.

“The details of this case expose the regime’s blatant interference in the personal life of Sudanese citizens,” Sudan Change Now Movement, a youth group, said in a statement.

President Omar Hassan al-Bashir’s government is facing a huge economic and political challenge after the 2011 secession of South Sudan, which was Sudan’s main source of oil.

A decision by Bashir last year to cut subsidies and impose austerity measures prompted violent protests in which dozens were killed and hundreds were injured.

Credit: Reuters

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