The Association of Gas Tanker Drivers say they will embark on a nationwide strike if the National Petroleum Authority(NPA) fails to withdraw the Cylinder re-circulation model expected to be rolled out in September this year.

According to the group, the policy threatens the survival of their businesses if allowed to be implemented.

They alleged that the NPA under the leadership of its Chief Executive Officer, Hassan Tampuli has contracted Puma to do the lifting and re-circulation of Gas in the country, a situation they say will render most Gas filling Stations in the country non-functional thereby causing massive lay offs.

“About 7000 Ghanaian workers in the LPG Chain will have to be laid off, aggravating the already high unemployment situation in the country. The policy itself is discriminatory. we think the government is not being told the truth. The CRM will be a complete drain on the economy, and as the operators will repatriate all their earnings in foreign currencies, sadly in a job Ghanaians are already doing very well. We therefore call for its withdrawal and extinction,” Chairman of the Association, Shefew Mohammed told Journalists in Tema.

The tanker drivers who are livid about the situation say they will stop the loading, if government refuses to pay heed to their calls.

“We are giving the government up to next week, we won’t extend it to two weeks or three weeks, if we don’t hear anything from the government we will stop the loading. He can do the re-circulation, we can also do our Gas. He should allow us to fill the cylinders from the station, because if he says we shouldn’t fill the cylinder from the station where are we taking the load to? So he should allow us also to fill the cylinders at the station,they will also fill their own there. Puma is coming to take the cylinders all from the station so that nobody will fill cylinder from the station again. Since Puma was there, the stations are the people who were supplying the Gas,” an angry driver told the media.