A former head of the National Petroleum Authority Moses Asaga has called on the regulator to stop issuing out fuel station license to new applicants in Accra.
According to him, the capital city has enough fuel stations for its size.
The suggestion by Mr. Asaga comes after a gas explosion at Atomic junction in Accra claimed seven lives with over 100 others seriously injured.
Investigation has commenced into the cause of the fire which was allegedly triggered by a leakage from a gas tanker which was discharging its content.
It took about 10 hours for the Ghana National Fire Service to bring the situation under total control.
Speaking to Francis Abban on the Morning Starr Monday, Mr. Asaga said the regulator must be serious with its monitoring activities.
“Accra is not supposed to have filling stations anymore. The hotspot indicates that Accra has enough filling stations. It is time we see more supervision. At a T-junction, the fuel stations should be 300M away,” Asaga said.
He also urged the NPA to set up a taskforce to enforce its regulations at fuel stations.
“Going forward, I think the NPA should have a squad who will monitor discharges at all stations. A lot of these accidents are as a result of human error”.
Meanwhile, a former director of the Town and Country Planning Kofi Osei says the NPA should be blamed for the frequent accidents at fuel stations.
“The NPA, EPA and other stakeholders issue the permits, our office does not issue permits. I know that the normal process before citing a filling station is to do a neighbourhood survey, the Assembly will then have to be consulted and other processes continue,” he noted on Morning Starr.
Source:starrFMonline.com