Uganda: Members Of Parliament In Uganda Call For Cheaper, Clean Energy Sources
Members of parliament in Uganda have called on the government to adopt cheaper, clean energy sources.
Parliament has questioned the government’s continued investment in thermal energy instead of other cheaper and cleaner energy sources.
During the Tuesday, 9 August 2022 plenary sitting, members of parliament urged government to adopt sustainable renewable sources of energy which are environmentally friendly, efficient and less costly as compared to thermal energy, which is expensive and more pollutive.
This was during the debate on the Committee on Public Accounts (Central Government) report on the Auditor General’s special audit report on the Namanve Thermal Power Plant.
“In terms of fuel and maintenance, these thermal plants are very expensive. I would implore government to shift and invest in wind energy. We have lots of wasted wind in Elgon, Kapchorwa etc.,” opposition whip, Hon. John Baptist Nambeshe said.
Nambeshe said government should explore other cheaper energy sources such as solar and natural gas.
“We need to go for cleaner energy which is environmentally friendly and efficient. We have a global challenge of climate change and as we grapple with it, we should minimize greenhouse gas emissions through such clean energies,” he said.
In October 2021, Parliament directed PAC to investigate the anomalies and inadequacies surrounding the 2007 implementation agreement between government and a local firm, Jacobsen Uganda Power Plan Company Limited (JUPPCL), where the latter was supposed to build, operate and maintain a 50MW heavy fuel oil thermal plant in Namanve for 13 years and later transfer the same to government.
Whereas the Namanve thermal plant estimated at $27.95 million was eventually handed over to government through the Uganda Electricity Generation Company Limited (UEGCL) in February 2022 after a long dispute, MPs believe that the project is likely to become a white elephant.
“This House passed a budget for a solar project in Kololo which they have said is working effectively and supplies a lot of energy that will complement hydro energy…Why don’t we use solar power that is free in terms of using the sunlight so that we don’t spend money on thermal power that is extremely expensive?” Hon. Rosemary Nyakikongoro (Sheema District) said.
The State Minister for Energy, Hon. Sidronius Opolot Okasai was quick to say that whereas thermal power is very expensive and devastating to the environment in terms of gas emissions, it is still a necessary source of energy for the country.
“This thermal plant was put in place at a time when the country was literally running dark and government had to make a decision to have a thermal plant to meet our energy needs, he said adding that, ’over time, we have built capacity to generate power through sustainable energy like hydro power. It is a backup energy which is operating at a minimum just to keep the engines running.’
The committee report that was presented by Hon. Fredrick Angura (Tororo South County) also emphasised that government adopts new investments on more environmentally efficient energy solutions such as wind, solar and natural gas which are comparatively cheaper in the long run.
“As a country, we should work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We should have a significant investment in the development of renewable energy infrastructure and technologies,” Angura said.
Source:Esi-Africa
Ghana: Security Personnel Deployed To Krobo Area Ahead Of Planned Restoration Of Power Supply
Security personnel are currently in the Krobo area in the Eastern Region of Ghana to gather intelligence ahead of plans by ECG to restore power supply to the area.
While the security officers will be gathering intelligence, some staff of ECG have also been deployed there to monitor power installations to ascertain their integrity.
The power distribution company, ECG, has cut the power supply to the area for about two weeks, plunging the area into darkness.
The action of ECG followed attacks on its staff who were installing prepayment meters and residents’ confrontation with military personnel who were helping to install the meters.
Residents of Manya and Yilo Krobo owe ECG unpaid electricity bills to the tune of Gh¢168 million for about five years.
The power distribution company has given them up to five years to settle their indebtedness, but the residents seem not to be in favour of the proposal.
Speaking on the development in the Krobo area, the Managing Director of ECG, Samuel Dubik Masubir Mahama, justified ECG’s decision to seek the assistance of personnel from the 48 Engineering Regiment of the Ghana Armed Forces.
“I didn’t have the requisite numbers. They are not just soldiers…the army has an engineering regiment that has electrical engineers. I picked them up and took them to the training school, with the blessing of the National Security, and then, deployed them there to do the exercise,” he told the Host of ‘Hard Truth’ on Joy News Channel.
“We have not had the best of relationships in Manya/Yilo Krobo, so my staff needed support from the National Security.
“All they keep saying is to pardon their debt, withdraw the soldiers and remove the prepaid meters. The prepaid meters are not negotiable. They should not, for a second, believe that the prepaid meters will be negotiated. The soldiers are also not going anywhere…my people need to be protected. They equally have families as anyone.
“We can’t keep giving them electricity if they are not ready to pay. They have not been paying since 2014. Electricity is a privilege and not a right. It’s only a right to enjoy electricity when we pay,” Mr. Mahama said.
The ECG boss added that “ECG is losing a lot of money because the residents refuse to pay bills.”
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Ghana: Accept Prepaid Meters; It’s Non-negotiable—ECG MD Tells Krobos
The Managing Director for the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Samuel Dubik Masubir Mahama, has advised residents of Manya and Yilo Krobo Municipalities to soften their stance and accept the prepaid meters, saying the installation of prepaid meters is non-negotiable.
“The prepaid meters are not negotiable. They should not, for a second, believe that the prepaid meters will be negotiated. The soldiers are also not going anywhere. My people need to be protected; they equally have families as anyone.
“We can’t keep giving them electricity if they are not ready to pay. They have not been paying since 2014. Electricity is a privilege and not a right. It is only a right to enjoy electricity when we pay,” Mr Mahama told the host of ‘Hard Truth’ on Joy News Channel.
According to him, “ECG is losing a lot of money because the residents refuse to pay bills.”
Residents in the Krobo enclave owe ECG GHc168 million in unpaid electricity bills for five years.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Kenya: Uhuru Kenyatta Commissions $335 Million Oil Jetty In Mombasa
Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta has commissioned the East African nation’s Sh40 billion (US$335,570,468.00) Kipevu Oil Terminal 2 in Mombasa.
The jetty will be operated by the Kenya Pipeline Company.
The world-class marine tanker offshore jetty, which is one of its kind in the region, has three berths with one spare for future development.
The facility is capable of discharging three ships at a go.
The jetty offers the capability of higher discharge rates and is hence expected to improve ship turnaround, reduce demurrage costs and increase product stability for the country and regions around.
The new terminal could make Kenya competitive as a petroleum product import route for EAC neighbours.
Kenya is a dominant route for the importation of fuel products to the region. Countries such as Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo relied on Kenya for the importation of the products.
Inefficiencies, including the slow discharge of products from vessels at KOT, have over time seen the country lose a chunk of this market to Tanzania’s Central Transport Corridor.
With the new KOT ensuring that there are no delays for ships, together with other recent investments in petroleum transport infrastructure such as the Mombasa-Nairobi pipeline, Kenya could easily reclaim the lost market share.
According to KPA, the new KOT can handle Uganda’s monthly fuel consumption in one session. The terminal’s four berths can each handle a ship carrying 190 million litres of fuel.
This means that each of the four berths at the new terminal has the capacity of handling 750 million litres of fuel per session, each ship offloading 190 million litres of fuel per session.
This, according to KPA, is equivalent to Uganda’s fuel consumption per month.
Rwanda’s fuel consumption of fuel products is 20 million litres per month.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
The world-class marine tanker offshore jetty, which is one of its kind in the region, has three berths with one spare for future development.
The facility is capable of discharging three ships at a go.
The jetty offers the capability of higher discharge rates and is hence expected to improve ship turnaround, reduce demurrage costs and increase product stability for the country and regions around.
The new terminal could make Kenya competitive as a petroleum product import route for EAC neighbours.
Kenya is a dominant route for the importation of fuel products to the region. Countries such as Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo relied on Kenya for the importation of the products.
Inefficiencies, including the slow discharge of products from vessels at KOT, have over time seen the country lose a chunk of this market to Tanzania’s Central Transport Corridor.
With the new KOT ensuring that there are no delays for ships, together with other recent investments in petroleum transport infrastructure such as the Mombasa-Nairobi pipeline, Kenya could easily reclaim the lost market share.
According to KPA, the new KOT can handle Uganda’s monthly fuel consumption in one session. The terminal’s four berths can each handle a ship carrying 190 million litres of fuel.
This means that each of the four berths at the new terminal has the capacity of handling 750 million litres of fuel per session, each ship offloading 190 million litres of fuel per session.
This, according to KPA, is equivalent to Uganda’s fuel consumption per month.
Rwanda’s fuel consumption of fuel products is 20 million litres per month.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Ghana: Divided GNPC Staff Fight Over ‘Clueless’ Acting CEO
The staff of Ghana’s national oil company, GNPC, are fighting one another because of their acting Chief Executive, Opoku Ahweneeh-Danquah.
While a section of the workforce is accusing the acting CEO of exhibiting crass incompetence and causing financial loss to the Corporation, others are backing him, claiming his performance has been stellar.
Mr. Opoku Ahweneeh-Danquah, a relative of Nana Asante Bediatuo, Secretary of President Nana Akufo-Addo, was appointed as acting CEO barely four months ago after the exit of the former CEO, Dr K.K Sarpong.
The current CEO’s appointment is said to have been engineered by the President’s Secretary and Board Chairman of GNPC, Freddie Blay, whose interest was to get someone he could easily control.
A section of the GNPC staff, who described themselves as the Concerned Staff of GNPC, in a 10-paragraph petition, addressed to the Board Chairman of GNPC and copied to Board Members, Minister for Energy and Members of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Energy and Mines, faulted the Acting CEO as having an erratic behaviour that often sets him in confrontation with experts and management staff, whom he should be learning from.
The Concerned GNPC Staff said in their petition that “during Mr. Opoku Danquah’s onboarding week, he was seen arguing loudly with experts and appeared not to understand the basic principle of governance, finance audit and public sector processes. We believe he could have managed his emotions more professionally in dealing with those experts.”
They also accused him of being reckless, presenting to staff financial statements in which he cited his predecessor for misappropriation, but his claims turned out to be false.
“While he falsely accused his predecessor to have misappropriated the Corporation’s funds of about US$12 million, he smartly concealed the US$100 million funds the Corporation had received from Jubilee Holding Lifting in his financial report.”
Again, Ahweneeh-Danquah is accused of side-lining General Managers and Deputy Chief Executives in his daily running of the affairs of GNPC, preferring instead to deal with four officers he has appointed as special aides to interface with them, inviting these ‘darling boys’ to sit in Executive Committee (Excom) meetings and Entity Tender Committee (ETC) meetings.
They further accused the Acting CEO of violating the guidelines and policy on employee mobility and transfers.
They noted that the Acting CEO transferred thirty employees across the business without regard for career aspirations and progression.
The GNPC boss’ erratic behaviour and indecision, according to the workers, have resulted in the cancellation of an important workshop by the Corporation after postponing it twice, for which the organisation now owes money.
“The Corporation is to pay Royal Senchi Hotel an amount of about GH 200,000.00 for a workshop the Corporation never attended because of his indecision. He postponed the workshop on two occasions and eventually cancelled it and the hotel is rightfully asking GNPC to pay. We believe a consultation with relevant stakeholders on this matter would have averted this financial loss.
“The CEO’s behaviour and conduct, and particularly his leadership style has created an unhealthy working environment in GNPC. For instance, the GNPC working environment became so unhealthy…absenteeism became the order of the day until the HR Division started to control it.
“At the time of writing this letter, the environment is still charged, and employees are demotivated, uncertain, and feeling insecure, as they do not know what is going to happen next,’’ the petition stated.
However, these claims against the acting CEO have been refuted by the Senior Staff Union of the Corporation.
In a statement issued by the Union on Tuesday, 9th August 2022, it said: “The Executive body of the Senior Staff Union wishes to state on record that we have not received any complaint or grievance whatsoever from any person or group regarding the conduct of our Chief Executive.”
The Union claims there is currently industrial harmony, and the prevailing atmosphere in the Corporation is one of calmness.
The Union noted that the petition by concerned the GNPC staff has become a source of worry to some well-meaning members of the Union.
The Union reminded members of the terms in their Condition of Service, especially on grievance management and admonished members to uphold them at all times.
Meanwhile, a statement issued by the Corporate Affairs Department of GNPC also claims Mr Danquah has brought on board some positive energy to the operations of GNPC and is determinedly steering the corporation in the right direction.
“There is indeed a general sense of hope and great expectations amongst staff.”
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Nigeria: Buhari Okays Seplat Energy Acquisition Of ExxonMobil Shares In US
Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari, has approved the Seplat Energy Offshore Limited acquisition of Exxon Mobil shares in the United States of America.
“The President, acting in his capacity as Minister for Petroleum Resources, and in consonance with the country’s drive for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the energy sector, has consented to the acquisition of Exxon Mobil shares in the United States of America by Seplat Energy Offshore Limited,” a statement issued by President Buhari’s Media Adviser, Femi Adesina, disclosed.
Exxon Mobil had entered into a landmark Sale and Purchase Agreement with Seplat Energy to acquire the entire share capital of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited from Exxon Mobil Corporation, Mobil Development Nigeria Inc and Mobil Exploration Nigeria Inc, both registered in Delaware, USA.
President Buhari gave his ministerial consent to the deal based on the extensive benefits of the transaction to the Nigerian energy sector and the larger economy.
The President, in commitment to investment drive in the light of the Petroleum Industry Act, granted consent to the Share Sales Agreement as requested by the parties to the transaction, and directed that the approval be conveyed to all the parties involved.
Exxon Mobil/Seplat are expected to carry out operatorship of all the oil mining licenses in the related shallow water assets towards production optimisation to support Nigeria’s OPEC quota in the short term, as well as ensure accelerated development and monetisation of the gas resources in the assets for the Nigerian economy.
President Buhari also directed that all environmental and abandonment liabilities be adequately mitigated by Exxon Mobil and Seplat.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
IAEA Sees “Very Real Risk Of A Nuclear Disaster” In Ukraine
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Mariano Grossi, has warned that there is a “very real risk of a nuclear disaster” due to the situation around the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine due to regular shelling.
In a tweet, Grossi said, “The @iaeaorg team must go to Zaporizhia just as we did to Chornobyl and South Ukraine earlier in the year. We can put together a safety, security and safeguards mission and deliver the indispensable assistance and impartial assessment that is needed.”
The Zaporizhia nuclear plant is controlled by the Russian forces, which seized it in the early days of what Moscow calls a special military operation in Ukraine. Since then, Ukrainian agencies have accused the Russians of using Zaporizhia as a launchpad for shelling attacks on various targets.
Reporting on the IAEA’s director general’s warning, the BBC wrote that according to Ukrainian sources, there had been damage to some parts of the plant though not the reactors, including the plant’s external power supply system.
There has been fighting with the Ukrainian forces over the nuclear plant since the Russian forces seized it.
“Military action jeopardising the safety and security of the Zaporizhzya nuclear power plant is completely unacceptable and must be avoided at all cost,” Grossi said.
“Any military firepower directed at or from the facility would amount to playing with fire, with potentially catastrophic consequences,” Grossi said.
“I strongly and urgently appeal to all parties to exercise the utmost restraint in the vicinity of this important nuclear facility, with its six reactors. And I condemn any violent acts carried out at or near the Zaporizhzya nuclear power plant or against its staff.”
The top IAEA official also said, “For the sake of protecting people in Ukraine and elsewhere from a potential nuclear accident, we must all set aside our differences and act, now. The IAEA is ready.”
Source: Oilprice.com
Ghana: West African Petroleum Industry Experts, Stakeholders To Gather At GHIPCON 2022
Petroleum industry leaders, experts and decision-makers in West Africa are gearing up to gather in Accra, the capital of Ghana, for this year’s Ghana International Petroleum Conference (GhipCon) scheduled from 28th-30 September 2022.
This year’s event—the 3rd Edition—will witness the convergence of regulators and petroleum downstream stakeholders from across the West African Sub-region and beyond.
Under the auspices of Ghana’s Ministry of Energy, the conference will be organised by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), in collaboration with the Ghana Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors (CBOD) and the African Refiners and Distributors Association (ARDA).
Ghana’s Vice President, Dr. Alhaji Mahamudu Bawumia, is expected to deliver a keynote address at this year’s conference dubbed: ‘Energy Transition in the African Petroleum Downstream Context: Prospects, Challenges and the Way Forward’.
The conference is designed to actively bring to the fore the downstream petroleum industry’s perspective and guidance on issues of energy transition and how government policy and regulatory framework could drive the Transition process.
It also highlights best practices for the advancement of the industry, not only in Ghana but across the West African sub-region and beyond.
For the first time, the conference will have a regulator’s workshop for a third of the conference.
The workshop is expected to share best practices amongst ECOWAS regulators in Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Cote D’Ivoire and Togo and other key stakeholders on progress made thus far on the adoption of the mandated AFRI-5 (50-ppm Sulphur) Fuel Specifications and promote collaboration on the implementation going forward.
Panellists would discuss issues of governmental and regulatory policy, and best practices for the advancement of the industry.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Ghana: Journalist, 5 Others Battle For Live After Sustaining Massive Burns In Gas Explosion
Seven people including a journalist and a nursing mother are battling for their lives after suffering massive injuries due to a gas explosion that occurred at Kpassa, in the Oti Region, last Saturday, August 6, 2022.
According to reports, the explosion occurred at about 9 pm in the room of the journalist who was using a gas cylinder.
It is unclear what he was using the gas cylinder for at the time.
The report mentioned laptops, TV sets and many other properties as items that were destroyed due to the incident.
Ghana: Three Perish In Ho Gas ExplosionFour of the victims were reportedly rushed to the Nkwanta Municipal and St Joseph’s Hospital for treatment. Plans are being made to transfer the victims to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital for further treatment whilst the others remain at the Kpassa Health Center and Pentecost Clinic. Some of the victims have reportedly confirmed in an interview with Accra-based Adom FM that there was a gas leakage in a room that led to the fire explosion. Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Ghana: Nuclear Disasters Must Not Scare Ghana—Expert Says
A former Director-General of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC), Prof Benjamin Jabez Botwe Nyarko is urging Ghana to invest in nuclear energy for affordable and reliable electricity and should not be scared by the past nuclear accidents.
Observing that fatalities resulting from nuclear accidents across the world are insignificant as compared to disasters caused by other forms of electricity generation options, Professor Nyarko advised Ghana to take advantage of the enormous benefits nuclear energy comes with to invest in it.
“Accidents associated with nuclear energy must not scare Ghana from investing in it because no industry is immune from accidents, but all industry learns from them. The reality is that lessons have been learnt from the past accidents and safety of nuclear power plants have improved to mitigate accidents,” he said while delivering a welcome address at a three-day training workshop for regional managers of Ghana News Agency (GNA) and selected editors at Peduase, Aburi, in the Eastern Region.
The workshop is under the theme: ‘Nuclear safety and environmental concerns; strengthening public understanding’.
Since 1952, there have been three major nuclear power accidents namely Fukushima Daiichi, which occurred in Japan in March 2011, Chornobyl, Ukraine (formerly the Soviet Union) on April 26, 1986, and Three Mile Island, Middletown, Pennsylvania, USA, in March 1970.
It is clear that since 2011 after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear incident, there has been no major nuclear power plant disaster.
Ghana is hopeful of establishing its first nuclear power plant by 2030.
Professor Nyarko, a Nuclear Physicist and chairman of the NPG Board, explained that nuclear energy has a 60-year-record of low carbon with scientific proof.
Nuclear is a low carbon emission technology to deliver affordable power to industry, thus leading to industrialisation, and creation of hundreds of direct and indirect jobs for the citizenry.
Professor Nyarko, consequently, noted that the training workshop should equip the participants with in-depth insight into the sector to woo the public to give their support for the nuclear power project.
“You, the media, are needed in this journey to understand the project and, in turn, explain the issues to the public to allay their fears and perceptions,” he noted.
Professor B.J.B Nyarko further allayed the fears and perceptions in the minds of the public who have always connected nuclear energy to war because it was born out of war, explained that the country is reinforcing international requirements and regulations, and with advance technology, said Ghana is making no room for complacency in its drive to go nuclear, the solution to climate change and industrial growth.
“Ghana is ready to build a nuclear power plant with high regulatory and international standards at the core. And the media must help in disseminating this industrialisation drive to the public to give it their support,” he said in conclusion.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com Ghana: EOCO Partners BOST To Recover Lost Revenue For The State
Ghana’s strategic fuel stock-keeping company, Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation (BOST) Company Limited is being assisted by the Economic and Organise Crime Office (EOCO) to recover revenue owed by individuals and entities in the country.
According to the Managing Director of BOST, Edwin Provencal, the company has been able to recover five per cent of monies owed them through the effort of EOCO.
Mr. Edwin Provençal made this known when he presented Ultra-Modern Canon printers and photocopy machines to EOCO today.
The donation was a response to a request from EOCO for BOST to help them with the provision of the machines.
Mr. Provençal emphasised that the provision of the equipment is to help EOCO fight economic and organised crime in the country.
The Executive Director of EOCO, Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo, who received the machines, said EOCO at present, does not have such machines and that the importance of this gesture from BOST could not be over-emphasised.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Ghana: ECG’s Saboteurs Hack Down Distribution Line In Yilo Krobo
Some unidentified persons have hacked down one of the electricity distribution poles of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) at Okwenya junction, in the Yilo Krobo Municipality of the Eastern Region.
Sources say the act might have been committed last Thursday night, resulting in interruptions in power supply to some communities.
Residents of Manya and Yilo Krobo Municipalities have been opposing the installation of pre-payment meters in the areas.
They owe ECG unpaid electricity bills to the tune of Gh¢168 million for about five years.
The power distribution company has given them up to five years to settle their indebtedness, but the residents seem not to be in favour of the proposal.
Several parts of both Manya and Yilo Krobo have been in darkness for almost two weeks after ECG cut the power supply to the two areas due to threats to their staff.
Confirming the incident to journalists Assemblyman for Okwenya, Honourable Seth Tetteh said the saboteurs used a chainsaw machine, to cut one of the high tension lines from Akuse junction to Adukrom which passes through Akerley
Personnel of the ECG have visited the area to replace the pole to restore the power supply to the affected communities.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Ghana: Petroleum Tanker Drivers Resume Work After Four Days’ Sit Down Strike
Petroleum tanker drivers in the Republic of Ghana have called off their sit-down strike after meeting with the Ministry of Energy and the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) on Friday, 5th August 2022.
The tanker driver unions embarked on the sit-down strike on Monday, 1st August 2022, to protest the continuous ban on LPG projects which were in various stages of completion.
They were also unhappy with claims by the NPA that they were tampering with the electronic tracking cargo seal fixed on their tankers.
Ghana’s Cabinet placed a ban on ongoing LPG projects after the Atomic Junction gas explosion incident in 2017.
A statement issued by the union today, Friday, August 5, 2022, noted that the suspension of the strike is up till 30th September 22, 2022, when they expect all issues to be addressed.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Ghana’s Cabinet placed a ban on ongoing LPG projects after the Atomic Junction gas explosion incident in 2017.
A statement issued by the union today, Friday, August 5, 2022, noted that the suspension of the strike is up till 30th September 22, 2022, when they expect all issues to be addressed.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Ghana: LPG Operators Reopen Outlets After Four Days Of Shutting Down
LPG retail outlets across the Republic of Ghana have been reopened to consumers after four days of shutting down by their operators.
The LPG operators shut down their outlets in solidarity with Tanker Drivers Unions who are on sit-down strike since Monday.
The drivers embarked on a sit-down strike to protest the continuous ban on LPG projects which were at various stages of completion and claims by the NPA that drivers had been tampering with their seal.
Cabinet, on Wednesday, lifted the ban to pave way for its owners to complete them.
A statement issued by the Association said: “We, the LPG Marketing Companies Association of Ghana, welcome the government’s decision to lift the ban on the construction of LPG retail outlets across the country.
“We are, by this statement, calling off the industrial action commenced on Monday, August 1, 2022, with immediate effect,” it explained.
It commended Ghanaians for their tremendous support.
It also thanked President Akufo-Addo, the Energy Minister, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh and the Chief Executive Officer of the National Petroleum Authority, Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, for reversing the decision which it described as costing the lives of some of its members and millions of cedis.
“This resolution is without prejudice to our concerns about NPA’s communication on the lifting of the ban as we are particularly worried about the lack of the details in the statement,” it stressed.
“It is our earnest expectation that the Ministry of Energy and the NPA will bring all the regulatory bodies on board to ensure the smooth implementation of this directive from Cabinet,” it concluded.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com