The allegations by members of the Ghana Liquefied Petroleum Gas Operators Association (GLiPGOA) that the National Petroleum Authority’s (NPA’s) recent shutdown of T-Terkpor Gas Refilling Station is an attempt to destroy local investments for multinationals to takeover has been treated with a pinch of salt.
T-Terkpor Gas Refilling Station has dragged NPA to court for shutting down the station at Afariwa Junction in the Ashaiman Municipality.
The decision to shut down the station followed the Multi Stakeholders’ Committee (MSC) recommendations and a petition by Charles Kissi, the Assembly Member of the Area to the Energy Ministry to close down the facility because of the danger it poses to two adjoining schools-Tema International School and Tema Ridge School.
But the Torgbe Adaku V, President of CLiPGOA noted that NPA activated this agenda when instead of helping find a lasting solution to some of the hazards of handling LPG rather shockingly decided on collapsing all their stations across the country with the introduction of a Cylinder Recirculation Model although this has been known to be a rather more dangerous policy whose effects in several countries across the world has been disastrous.
The NPA, in a statement issued by the Corporate Affairs Division has accused CLiPGOA of sabotaging the National LPG Policy.
“The NPA is aware of the attempts by GLiPGOA to undermine the entire National LPG Policy, which will not only create additional jobs but increase public safety in the downstream sector,” the statement said.
According to the statement, the allegations by Torgbe Adaku V and CLiPGOA members are vile, defamatory, threatening and a deliberate attempt to sacrifice public safety for personal financial gains.
Read Full Statement Below:
REJOINDER: HALT THE RECKLESS VICTIMISATION OF OUR BUSINESSES IMMEDIATELY.
The attention of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) has been drawn to a statement read at a press conference by members of the Ghana LPG Operators Association (GLiPGOA), on January 16, 2019. The statement, signed by Torgbe Adaku V, among other claims, accused the NPA of an “agenda to consciously sabotage and collapse” their “businesses,” while paving the way for “giant multinational companies” and “cronies to set up liquefied petroleum gas bottling plants across the country…”
Again, GLiPGOA claims recent risk assessment conducted by the NPA at various LPG stations across the country, as part of the implementation of the Cylinder Recirculation Model, a policy which has the full backing of the President of the Republic and his Cabinet, as well as most consumers of petroleum products, is an attempt to shut down stations of its members on the “mere whims and caprices of so called petitioners whose chief complaint has been that gas stations have been sited close to their facilities, whether schools or homes contrary to the grounds on which an applicant may be denied a license under the NPA Act.”
According to the statement, Goby Gas Station and T-Tekpor Gas Station have been specifically targeted by the NPA.
The NPA as a Regulator operates within the law and is mandated to ensure that operations in the sector are conducted in a safe and standardized manner, and stations in breach of safety standards will be sanctioned after due process to ensure public safety.
The NPA respects the rule of law and the work of the judiciary and awaits the outcome of the court action been filed by T-Terkpor.
That said, the NPA wishes to categorically deny the allegations made by Torgbe Adaku V and members of GLiPGOA. The allegations are vile, defamatory, threatening and a deliberate attempt to sacrifice public safety for personal financial gains.
The NPA is aware of the attempts by GLiPGOA to undermine the entire National LPG Policy, which will not only create additional jobs but increase public safety in the downstream sector. The NPA has a duty of care to the general public and that will always guide our operations.
The NPA wishes to reiterate its commitment to working with players in the industry to ensure the implementation of the Cylinder Recirculation policy as directed by the Government. We shall however not give in to threats from any individual or bodies seeking to undermine our work.
Signed
Corporate Affairs Division
—CBOD News
