A former Energy Minister, Dr. Kwabena Donkor has described as unfair the government’s decision to put a five-year moratorium on the construction of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) stations across the country.

The former Minister who is also the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament (MP) for Pru East Constituency in the Bono East Region said this in an interview on the 505 evening news analysis programme on Accra-based Class 93.1 FM on Tuesday, August 2, 2022.

He said the decision to put a moratorium on the construction of LPG stations was a knee-jerk reaction to the safety concerns raised by some members of the public about the gas explosion at Atomic Junction’s LPG station in the Greater Accra Region in 2017.

According to him, it will take about $500,000 to acquire land to put up an LPG station in Accra “and after acquiring the land and erecting all the equipment, you are asked by the government to leave it for some five years because of some safety challenges which has not been addressed by the government. It’s worrying”.

He was of the view that the government has been slow in taking action on some of the safety measures to guide the industry in the country.

The Ranking Member on the Parliamentary Select Committee on Energy and Mines called on the government to do the needful by coming out with safety measures to guide the industry and lift the moratorium.

He pointed out that even though members of the Gas and Petroleum Tanker Drivers Association of Ghana have not petitioned the Minority over their concerns, they have legitimate concerns, especially about the lifting of the moratorium looking at the investments made in the construction of some of these stations.