Vice President of the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Marketers Association, Gabriel Kumi, has confirmed that the shortage of LPG has started hitting some filling stations as a result of the strike by tanker drivers.
He has, therefore, warned that if care is not taken, the shortage of LPG will be massive and could affect the Ghanaian economy.
“I will urge the Government to pay attention to this because where it has gotten to, it is very slippery. There are some gas filling stations which dont have gas as of now . For those who have it, the prodcuts will finish by close of day today and tomorrow through to the weekend, Ghanaians will suffer for it,” he said.
He said this on Atinka TV's morning show, Ghana Nie with Ama Gyenfa Ofosu Darkwa.
The Tanker Drivers have been on strike since Monday, June 26, 2023, over bad roads in the petroleum enclave of Tema, Takoradi, Kumasi and Buipe.
According to them, all efforts to get the government to address their issue have proved futile.
Speaking on issues, Mr Gabriel Kumi said the Drivers want to see a commitment from the government before they return to work.
Despite the calls on the Government to fix the roads, he said the Government had not shown any commitment towards that, adding that the problem has persisted since 2017.
Meanwhile, Gabriel Kumi said two ministries, the Ministry for Roads and Highways and Ministry for Finance must be blamed for what is happening now.
He noted that the Roads Minister, Hon. Kwasi Amoako-Attah has arranged a meeting with the drivers.
However, He also admitted that due to the strike, there will be a shortage of petroleum gas of which Ghanaians will suffer the consequences.
“We saw what happened at Assin North, if the Government channels that same attention to these roads that give the Government money, gives the country huge sums of money, I feel the issue can be settled,” he said.
He continued, “We are aware that the Minister can promptly order the contractors to hit the road. The drivers are not requesting that the government fix all the roads before they go to work, as that would be an unreasonable request given that we know it takes months to repair roads. However, we want to see commitment, they want to see some commitment, and we want to see that the government is doing something so that we can tell the drivers that the government has done its part and have the strength to convince our men to go to work. It’s been nearly a week since this began last Friday, and I’m still not seeing any commitment from the government.”
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