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The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) has given the assurance that will address the issue of rising prices of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) on the market to make it more affordable and accessible to all Ghanaians.
According to the NPA Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr Mustapha Addul-Hamid, his out was doing all it could to ensure that LPG prices were within the reach of the ordinary Ghanaian family to dissuade people from using wood for fuel (charcoal) which was having a negative impact on the environment.
Dr Abdul-Hamid was speaking at the launch of this year’s Consumer Week Celebration of the NPA in Koforidua in the Eastern Region on Thursday on the theme, ‘CRM: Making LPG Accessible to all in a Safe and Efficient Manner.’
He said reducing LPG prices was crucial for the success of the Cylinder Recirculation Model (CRM), which aims to make LPG more accessible and affordable.
“The CRM aims to create employment opportunities for the country’s unemployed youth by involving them in the distribution and exchange of LPG cylinders. Our goal is that by the year 2030, 50 per cent of Ghanaian households should be using LPG as their primary cooking method,” he said.
To facilitate this model, the NPA has supervised the establishment of four bottling plants and issued licences for several cylinder exchange points and other relevant infrastructure.
Dr Abdul-Hamid noted that the CRM model provides numerous business opportunities within the petroleum sector and acknowledged that the high costs associated with obtaining licences for Petroleum Distribution Companies (PDC) and Oil Marketing Companies (OMC) are a barrier for many aspiring entrepreneurs.
“To obtain a PDC licence, you need to pay an entrance fee of USD 750,000 and own seven filling stations. For an OMC licence, you need three filling stations and four state-of-the-art filling stations, with each station costing not less than GH₵5 million to set up,” he explained.
Dr Abdul-Hamid pointed out that these costs are beyond the reach of many people, but the CRM model offers a more affordable alternative for fresh graduates and young entrepreneurs to establish cylinder exchange points.
He encouraged young entrepreneurs, including those with motorcycles (locally known as “aboboyaa”), to participate in the distribution of filled cylinders to homes in exchange for used ones.
He said the CRM model was a game-changer and urged all Ghanaians to embrace it for their benefit.
The Eastern Regional Minister, Seth Kwame Acheampong, also endorsed the CRM model, describing it as a new and safer method for distributing LPG for domestic consumption.
He commended the NPA’s efforts to reduce LPG prices and promote the CRM model, stating that these initiatives aim to make LPG more accessible and affordable, reduce reliance on fuel wood, and create employment opportunities, ultimately benefiting all Ghanaians.
He encouraged Ghanaians to adopt the model for their safety and convenience.
FROM AMA TEKYIWAA AMPADU AGYEMAN, KOFORIDUA
