LPG Marketers have shut down several outlets across the country to register their displeasure with some government policies.
The move comes barely 12 hours after the Gas Tanker Drivers Association (GTDA) declared a sit-down strike on Monday, 1st August over what it describes as unfair treatment by National Petroleum Authority (NPA) and Bulk Oil Storage and Transport (BOST).
Asaase Business reports that customers have been left stranded following ‘NO GAS’ notifications and the closure of gas retail locations.
Speaking with Emmanuel Aboagye-Wiafe on Energy 101, the vice-president of the LPG Marketers Association, Gabby Kumi, said “We all know that in 2017, there was an explosion in Ghana, after that, the cabinet came out with some directives. One of those directives is to stop the construction of LPG stations, what it is, is that it takes an average of two-three years to be able to complete the construction of an LPG station. So at the time, the ban was placed in 2017, a lot of our members had been permitted to construct and funds had been sunk into these [projects].”
He added: “Some [projects] were at various stages of completion. And we counted all these outlets, across the country we have about 120 outlets, either you compensate us, you pay us off so we forget about those outlets or you allow us to complete these outlets. So [that] we operate and recoup the investment we’ve made in them and pay the loans that we’ve taken from the bank.”
“And for the past five years, we have been writing letters, having meetings upon meetings. Let me just stress that NPA under the leadership of Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, has done a lot of job on it.”
“In fact, we have intercepted the document that they prepared to the Ministry of Energy, that was backing our calls in saying that these outlets should be allowed to be completed and operated.”
Kumi added that the government should either hasten processes to operationalise the LPG marketing outlets that stalled after the 2017 atomic gas explosion or compensate members of his association before they call off the strike.
“The way forward is that we are not asking the government to lift the ban totally. All that we are saying is that give us permit to build these stations.”
“Either the government gives us the US$10 million to compensate our members or allow us to operate to complete these stations and put them in operation. So we can recoup the investment and pay the loans we’ve contracted from the bank. Our demand is simple, your indigenous people have put these monies on the ground and you want it to go rotten.”