The Chief Executive Officer of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA,) Hassan Tampuli has said the Cylinder Recirculation Module it intends to roll out is not new.
He said the draft policy had been completed about five years ago but was not implemented because it did not get the approval it needed from leadership.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Friday, Mr Tampuli said “This policy is not one that just came up, if you look at what we have, there is already enough data and literature on the policy."
“I think it started sometime in 2012 or even before then, different models were being proposed…It just needed some support from the very top just as we have seen from the president, the vice president through the Ministry and cabinet. That is the kind of arrangement that has been missing for some time,” he added.
A gas explosion at the Atomic Junction in Accra three weeks ago left seven people dead and about 134 others injured.
The incident, which was the eighth in three years prompted the presidency to roll out measures to prevent such occurrences in the future.
After a Cabinet meeting on Thursday, October 12, 2017, the President on the advice of Cabinet directed that the Cylinder Recirculation Module on the distribution of LPG be implemented.
This means that LPG Bottling Plants will be sited away from congested commercial and population centres and will procure, brand, maintain and fill empty cylinders to be distributed to consumers and households through retail outlets.
Also, low-risk stations will be designated for the supply of gas to vehicles.
The policy will run alongside current practice where consumers take their empty cylinders to the gas refill centres, until after a year when it will become fully operational.
Mr Tampuli said the policy has gone through extensive stakeholder consultations with the Association of Oil Marketing companies, LPG Marketing Companies, the Ministry of Energy, the NPA and the chamber of Bulk Distributors all making inputs.
Other multi stakeholder committee members like the EPA, Fire Service, Town and Country Planning Department and also the Factories Inspectorate Department, he added, have all been involved in the drafting of the policy.
“The policy has gone through different stages and there has been more than 10 meetings between and among the various stakeholders to be able to fashion out a policy that will be acceptable to all and meet the current needs of the population and even go beyond their aspirations,” he said.
Had these measures been put in place earlier, Mr Tampuli said many of the unfortunate incidents that have occurred could have been avoided.
Mr Tampuli said in the absence of the policy, the NPA has tried to carry out its duties as expected, but could not do so much, especially when the sanction regime is not as stringent as it should be.
“The sanction regimes are not deterrent enough so you [marketers] can practically do anything and then you get a slap on the wrist,” he noted.
He indicated that proposals have been made for an amendment of the NPA act in order to make it more deterrent for anyone to breach the safety requirements.
“You will feel less encouraged to not meet the requirements when we finish with the review. We are going to make it more punitive,” he said.
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