NPP demands explanations for chronic gas shortages

The New Patriotic Party is deeply concerned about the worsening crisis in the supply of Liquefied Petroleum Gas to Ghanaian consumers.

What is most perplexing is that there has been no notable crisis in the global supply of oil and gas, since the Mills-Mahama led National Democratic Congress assumed the reins of office, to explain this unnecessary, inexcusable chronic shortages and irregularities in the supply of LPG on the domestic retail market.

We are also appalled by the insensitivity of the NDC government to the high social and economic costs of this LPG shortage crisis to the Ghanaian.

The gas shortage situation is disrupting livelihoods across the length and breadth of the country. Many households and motorists spend unproductive hours searching for this energy source to no avail and where there is little supply, the queues are long and winding.

Ghanaians have lost count of the number of times they have had to endure these avoidable gas shortages since 2009. Excuses have ranged from storms at sea to blaming commercial vehicles for converting to gas use. Now government appears to have run out of excuses or cannot be bothered to explain to Ghanaians why the continued crisis.

The terrible toll this is having on families squabbles at the gas filling stations over the now normal mad rush for limited LPG, and the attendant fires, destroying properties.

Motorists, a majority of whom are taxi drivers, have had to convert to the use of gas because of high prices of petrol and diesel over the last few years. Homes that rely on gas for cooking have had to resort to the use of charcoal, a practice the nation has taken a deliberate policy decision to move away from, given its negative environmental impact on our fast-depleting forest cover.

While the crisis in the gas sector deepens, the incompetence and inaction of the Mills-Mahama administration have led to the unfortunate situation where gas produced from Jubilee Field, which could augment supply to TOR is now being flared in contravention of PNDC Law 64 and at an estimated waste of more than $2 million a day.

The NDC III administration has done nothing of note to address the nation’s very limited production and storage facilities for LPG. We are calling on President Mills and Vice President Mahama to give the needed urgent attention to resolving this needless crisis in the supply of LPG to businesses and households. This level of inattention, carelessness and incompetence is unacceptable.

Signed: Nana Akomea, Communications Director