Government directives on LPG stations commendable – Bureau of Public Safety

The Bureau of Public Safety has commended President Akufo-Addo’s order for the immediate shutdown of high-risk LPG stations in Ghana following the Atomic junction gas explosion.

Seven lives were lost in last Saturday’s incident with over a 100 others suffering injuries.

Akufo-Addo’s directive is coming on the heels of a cabinet meeting Thursday over the explosion.

To successfully carry out the order, a task force is to be deployed within 30 days to assess the risk impact of all gas stations dotted across the country.

The government after the cabinet meeting further ordered the “immediate cessation” of all construction of facilities intended for use as gas or petroleum retail stations.

The new directive is “until further notice” as government rolls out safety and regulatory measures to save lives and properties in the wake of the Atomic Junction gas explosion which claimed seven lives.

Commenting on the president’s directive on Morning Starr Friday, the Executive Secretary of the Bureau of Public Safety, Nana Yaw Akwada said: “It is important that we commend this government for elevating issues of workplace safety to the cabinet level. I think that is highly commendable.”

“We haven’t seen that in times past. No, I haven’t seen that under any government and I think we should commend Nana Addo and his team for doing that,” he added.

On his part, the CEO of GASOP Oil, Kojo Poku, said the government’s directives to “an extent” guarantee safety at LPG stations across the country. Nonetheless, he said the latest order “is really amplifying what somebody is supposed to be doing anyway.”